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A GUIDE TO GREAT CITIES 



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A GUIDE 
TO GREAT CITIES 

FOR YOUNG TRAVELERS AND OTHERS 
NORTHWESTERN EUROPE 

BY 
ESTHER SINGLETON 

AUTHOR OF "ROME," "FLORENCE," ETC. 



New York 

THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY 

1910 



Copyright, 1910, by 
THE BAKEE & TAYLOE COMPANY 



Published, June, 1910 






THE TBOW PEESS, NEW YOEK 



©CI.A268276 









CONTENTS 



London: The Great Metropolis 
Antwerp: The City op Rubens 
The Hague: "The Largest Village in Europe 5 
Amsterdam: The Venice of the North 
Hamburg: The Beefsteak Town 
Copenhagen: The Athens of the North 
Stockholm: The Venice of the North . 
Christiania: The City Twice Founded 
Edinburgh: The Modern Athens . 
Dublin: The Seat of Irish Government 



PAGE 
11 

63 
99 
124 
160 
187 
222 
250 
270 
295 



LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS 

FACING 
PAGE 

St. Paul's Church, London .... Frontispiece ' 

The Clock Tower, Houses of Parliament, London . . 34 

Place Verte and Cathedral, Antwerp 82 

The Vyver, The Hague 102 

The Heerengracht, Amsterdam 128 

The Harbor, Hamburg 162 ' 

Jungfernstieg, The Alster Cathedral, Hamburg . . . 170 

Palace Square, Copenhagen 200 

Old and New Stockholm from Katarina Hissen . . . 228 

Carl Johan's Street, Royal Palace in the distance, 

Christiania 256 

Edinburgh from Calton Hill 292 

O'Connell's Bridge, Dublin 300 



A GUIDE TO GREAT CITIES 

NORTHWESTERN EUROPE 



A GUIDE TO CITIES 

THE CITY OF LONDON 
THE GREAT METROPOLIS 

THE capital of the British Empire, often called 
the " Modern Babylon," is the greatest city in 
the world. Its population equals that of Ireland or 
Scotland. Its immensity has long been the theme of 
native and foreign writers; and the life of its 
swarming millions always produces a strong impres- 
sion on the visitor. 

" I have seen the greatest wonder which the world 
can show to the astonished spirit," the poet Heine 
wrote. " I have seen it and am still astonished — for- 
ever will there remain fixed indelibly on my memory 
the stone forest of houses amid which flows the rush- 
ing stream of faces of living men with all their varied 
passions and all their terrible impulses of love, of 
hunger and of hatred — I mean London." 

So vast is London that people who live in one part 
of London know little or nothing about another ; and 
can easily lose their way in the labyrinth of unfamil- 
iar streets. In 1881 John Bright said : " I have 
spent six months there every year for forty years, 
and yet I know nothing about it. I do not believe 

11 



A Guide to Cities 

that there is a man in it who is fairly acquainted with 
all the parts and districts of that vast city." 

We know very little of the early history of Lon- 
don. It was a Celtic settlement when the Romans 
arrived. Aulus built a fort there in 43. Though a 
large place, it was of no strategical importance, and 
Suetonius abandoned it to the rebels under Boadicea 
in 61. Soon afterwards a bridge was built with a 
fort to protect the northern end. The western limit 
of this fort was probably where London Stone now 
stands in Cannon Street. The houses multiplied 
about the fort, but the settlement was not walled until 
369. The enclosure was then an area of 380 acres. 
The Picts and Scots were unable to take it. The 
Romans having withdrawn in 410, the city was in 
the utmost disorder. When the Britons were de- 
feated by the heathen Saxons in 457, they retreated 
to London. We hear nothing more of the city until 
604, when it is an unimportant place with ruined 
walls held by the King of the East Saxons. It was 
open to all invaders, until it was finally burned and 
deserted by the Danes in 839. Fifty years later, 
Alfred saw the great military value of the place. In 
886 he repaired the wall and founded the present 
city of London. For citizens he chose English, 
Danes, and Erench and German settlers indifferently ; 
so that very early the population was mixed. In 
Alfred's laws, a man who had crossed the sea thrice 
in his own boat was worthy of citizenship (thane- 
right). Later kings encouraged the commerce of the 
port and the fortifications were not neglected, so that 

12 



The City of London 

London was the only place in England that could 
withstand the Danes. In 982, the city suffered from 
a terrible fire, but the walls and gates were not in- 
jured. The Southwark end of the bridge must have 
been well fortified ; because, in order to get above the 
bridge, Canute had to dig a canal around Southwark 
for his boats. When Canute became king, London's 
tribute was one-seventh of the entire sum contributed 
by the country. Edward the Confessor held his par- 
liaments in this city and built Westminster Abbey, 
which was consecrated in 1065. 

After the battle of Hastings, the Londoners at first 
successfully resisted William the Conqueror, but soon 
thought it wise to submit. William needed a strong- 
hold to overawe the citizens; and the White Tower 
was commenced in 1078. In 1083 St. Paul's was 
also begun on the site of the old church founded by 
Ethelbert in 610. The City was now swarming with 
Norman settlers. It suffered many calamities. In 
1077 occurred such a fire " as never was before since 
London was founded." Ten years later, another fire 
consumed " the greatest and fairest part of the whole 
City." In 1090, also, a hurricane destroyed many 
churches and six hundred houses. 

London rapidly became rich and powerful. It was 
the support of the City that enabled Stephen to hold 
his own against Matilda. In 1176, London Bridge 
was rebuilt with stone. In 1189, the first mayor was 
elected. 

Henry II. with heavy taxes made the City pay 
dearly for its hostility to his mother; but his son 

13 



A Guide to Cities 

Richard granted many privileges. John also granted 
several charters. London always knew how to in- 
crease its power and privileges by giving monetary 
aid to necessitous princes. 

London was always a turbulent city, jealous of its 
rights, antagonistic to the King's ministers, sympa- 
thetic towards rebels and pretenders, and favorable to 
claimants to the Crown. It sided with De Montfort 
against Henry III. and attacked the Queen's barge 
at London Bridge. Bolingbroke was the idol of the 
Londoners, who gladly helped to make him king and 
depose Richard II. Edward IV. found similar favor 
and assistance in deposing Henry VI. His brother, 
Richard III., also found favor in the City, where he 
lived at Crosby Hall. Charles I. had to abandon his 
hated ministers Laud and Strafford to the vengeance 
of the Londoners, and later flee from his rebellious 
capital, returning to it only to lose his own head. 

When discontent and misery in the counties broke 
out into open rebellion, there was always a strong fac- 
tion in the City ready to welcome and assist the move- 
ment. In 1381, Wat Tyler and his followers could 
not have gained the City if the draw of London 
Bridge had not been lowered by an Alderman and 
his party. It was only when the mob began to plunder 
that the City became alarmed. The murder of the 
Archbishop, the Chancellor and the Treasurer in the 
Tower and the sack of John of Gaunt's palace were 
popular acts ; but when the City seemed to be at the 
mercy of the rabble, the Lord Mayor killed the leader 
in the presence of the King at Smithfield. 

14 



The City of London 

The next popular rising in which London was in- 
terested was Jack Cade's Rebellion (1450). The 
Kentish men encamped first at Blackheath and then 
at Southwark. After a Royal force was defeated the 
Court agreed to remedy some of the abuses complained 
of and Jack Cade was admitted into the City where 
he kept his followers under strict discipline for two 
days. However, he induced the mayor and judges to 
condemn Lord Say, one of the most hated of the 
King's ministers, whose head was immediately cut 
off in Cheapside by the insurgents. The next day 
Cade set the example of plundering some houses; 
and on his return to Southwark, London Bridge was 
closed against him and successfully resisted a night 
attack. Cade's army soon dispersed, and he was killed 
shortly afterwards by an esquire named Iden, who 
received a rich reward. 

In 1554, after beating the Royal forces Sir Thomas 
Wyatt tried to take the City, but the Londoners suc- 
cessfully defended Ludgate, and captured Wyatt and 
promptly executed him. 

London was always fond of pageantry. One of the 
most magnificent processions the city ever saw was 
in 1356 when the Black Prince escorted his prisoner, 
King John of France, through the streets after his 
victory at Poitiers. John was lodged at the Savoy, 
John of Gaunt's great palace in the Strand, which 
was sacked thirty-five years later by the rebels under 
Wat Tyler. Many a brilliant cavalcade of knights 
and ladies passed from the Tower to the tournaments 
held in Smithfield ; and splendid were the processions 

15 



A Guide to Cities 

of the City Companies, and Watch, which Boyalty 
often graced with its presence. 

London was frequently scourged with dreadful pes- 
tilences, the Black Death, the English Sweat, and 
the Plague carried off thousands of victims in the 
crowded and unsanitary dwellings in the narrow 
lanes of the City. The worst visitation of this nature 
was the Plague of 1665, when 50,000 deaths occurred 
between June and December. All business was sus- 
pended, and all who could left the City. Great fires 
were kindled in the streets to purify the air, and lit- 
tle was heard but the rumble of the death-cart and the 
cry : " Bring out your Dead ! " 

In the following year, Old London was practically 
wiped out by the Great Eire, which was a blessing in 
disguise, since it destroyed most of the plague-in- 
fected dwellings. It broke out on September 2, 1666. 
Panned by a high wind it raged for nearly a week 
and consumed eighty-nine churches, four city gates, 
the Guildhall (all but the walls) and many other 
public buildings, 13,200 houses and 460 streets. 
People fled to Hampstead, Highgate, Moorfields and 
Smithfield ; and the Thames was crowded with boats 
filled with people and their possessions. Everybody 
bore his trials heroically; and when the fire stopped 
" the citizens, instead of complaining, discoursed al- 
most of nothing but of a survey for rebuilding the 
city with bricks and large streets." Most of the task 
was given to Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke. 
Wren's great work was the rebuilding of St. Paul's 
and more than fifty parish churches. 

16 



The City of London 

What was left of the City standing within the walls 
covered only seventy-five acres ! Strange to say, only 
six or eight persons perished ! To commemorate the 
Great Fire, the Monument was erected on the site of 
St. Margaret's Church on Fish Street Hill. It was 
designed by Sir Christopher Wren and consists of a 
tall fluted column 202 feet high, surmounted by a 
gilt bronze ornament resembling flames. Originally 
the Monument had an inscription attributing the con- 
flagration to the malice of Papists. This fact ac- 
counts for Pope's couplet: 

" Where London's column pointing to the skies 
Like a tall bully lifts its head and lies." 

The City was soon rebuilt. 

In 1685, Louis XIV. revoked the Edict of Nantes, 
thus banishing thousands of the best craftsmen in 
France. These Huguenots came to London in large 
numbers and settled in Spitalfields. Being mostly 
engaged in silk-weaving, they were the founders of 
the Spitalfields silk industry. 

The City extended rapidly during the eighteenth 
century. In 1710, Parliament enacted that fifty new 
churches should be built to supply the spiritual needs 
of the suburbs. Many of the fashionable streets and 
squares of the West End were laid out in the days of 
the Georges. 

The only serious damage inflicted by mob violence 
at this period was in the " ~No Popery,'' or " Gordon 
Riots " of 1780. Lord George Gordon was elected 

17 



A Guide to Cities 

president of the Protestant Association of London 
and headed a mob of about 100,000 people to present 
a petition to Parliament against the removal of cer- 
tain penalties and disabilities to which Roman Cath- 
olics were subject. In a fiery speech, he excited his 
followers, who immediately began to riot, pillage and 
destroy. During the disorders which lasted for sev- 
eral days, Newgate prison was destroyed and the 
prisoners set free. The mansion of Lord Mansfield, 
the Chief Justice, and other private dwellings as 
well as many Roman Catholic chapels were also de- 
stroyed. 

Since that date, London has been comparatively 
free from mob excesses, though in 1848 defensive 
measures were taken against a threatened attack by 
the Chartists. The mob met south of the river, how- 
ever; and was prevented from returning to London 
by strong guards at the bridges; so nothing came 
of it. 

The city of London ruled by the Lord Mayor and 
Aldermen covers an area of a little more than one 
square mile : its resident population is about 25,000. 
The County of London, administered by the London 
County Council, constituted by Act of Parliament in 
1888, has an area of 74,839 acres with a population 
of more than four and a half millions. This does 
not include any part of Essex, into which London 
now extends for many miles. The population of 
Greater London approaches seven millions, dwelling 
in about nine hundred thousand houses. It is said 
that in London there are more Irish than in Dublin, 

18 



The City of London 

more Scotch than in Aberdeen, more Jews than in 
Palestine and more Roman Catholics than in Rome. 

The best way to get an idea of the extent of Lon- 
don is to go up the Thames. The river flows through 
the heart of the great city, and from it we can see 
many of the buildings and sites of historic interest. 

Starting therefore at Woolwich, the north shore is 
chiefly important for the extensive Victoria and 
Albert Docks. South Woolwich contains the Royal 
Arsenal and the Royal Military Academy for the 
training of cadets for the Artillery and Engineers. 

Next comes Greenwich, with the Hospital, Park 
and Observatory. 

If we had time, we could stroll through Green- 
wich Park and see its superb old trees and beautiful 
flower-gardens ; but we must hasten on our way. The 
Hospital that we pass was built by William III. for 
the care of the sailors wounded at the battle of La 
Hogue ; and stands on the site of Greenwich Palace, 
where Henry VIII. and his daughters, Mary and 
Elizabeth, were born; and which was the scene of 
many brilliant entertainments and historical events. 
There is a Naval Museum here in which many inter- 
esting relics are preserved. The " Whitebait Din- 
ners/' for which Greenwich used to be famous, took 
place at the Ship. Close by the Ship is the entrance 
to Greenwich Tunnel, opened for foot-passengers in 
1892. This, with Blackwell Tunnel and Thames 
Tunnel, is the only means of crossing the river except 
by boat till we reach the Tower Bridge. 

What strikes us about this part of the river is its 
19 



A Guide to Cities 

commercial activity, and the banks we notice, too, are 
lined with wharves and warehouses. At Limehouse, 
our boat enters the Pool, where it has to pick its 
way among boats of all shapes and sizes, and which 
have come from every port in the world. We are 
now in the very heart of the wonderful commerce of 
the British Empire, and realize that the old nickname 
" City of Masts " was most truthfully given to Lon- 
don. All along our way, too, we have been passing 
the great docks, catching glimpses of huge warehouses 
and masts of shipping. These, however, by no means 
constitute the whole of the docks of the Port of Lon- 
don. The lowest down the river are the Tilbury 
Docks. 

The only features of the banks for some distance 
are docks and warehouses. Along the north shore 
from the West India Dock Pier to St. Katharine's 
Docks is the riverside district of East London. The 
whole district is very squalid but very cosmopolitan. 
Men of all nations are seen in the streets, and Lime- 
house Causeway is the centre of the Chinese settle- 
ment. 

Soon after leaving Limehouse Pier, we pass the 
entrance to Limehouse Dock, and the Regent's Canal, 
which, with its connections, extends to Liverpool. 

Shadwell Church marks the eastern entrance to the 
London Docks, begun in 1800. 

Rotherhithe now lines the south bank for some dis- 
tance. Swift makes it the home of his famous Gul- 
liver. Here is the Thames Tunnel. It never paid 
as a footway, and is now used exclusively by trains. 

20 



The City of London 

The Tunnel Pier is in Wapping, where are also 
the London Docks. Behind the latter is the notorious 
Ratcliffe Highway (now St. George Street), with its 
innumerable rum shops. Next comes the old Execu- 
tion Dock where pirates were executed — Captain 
Kidd, among others, in 1701. They were hanged 
at low tide, and left there until three tides had 
washed over them. 

The district on the south side is Bermondsey, fa- 
mous in olden times for its abbey and its market- 
garden and mill-streams; but the gardens have dis- 
appeared under the buildings and the streams are 
now sewers. Bermondsey is a very busy place now; 
and is the centre of the leather trade. The western 
portion of Bermondsey fronting the river was for- 
merly a very squalid place, and the many ditches 
there formed what was called Jacob's Island. Dick- 
ens describes it in " Oliver Twist " and makes it the 
scene of Sikes's death. 

Behind the tall warehouses on the north bank just 
before we reach the Tower Bridge are St. Katharine's 
Docks. It was a mean and dirty district; and a 
church, hospital and 1,250 houses were demolished 
to provide the twenty-three acres now occupied by the 
docks. 

The Tower Bridge was begun in 1886. The cen- 
tral span consists of drawbridges that can be raised 
to allow big ships to pass. Immediately to the west 
on the north bank is the Tower of London, with its 
Traitors' Gate. 

" As to length of days, the Tower has no rival 
21 



A Guide to Cities 

among palaces and prisons. Old writers date it from 
the days of Csesar ; a legend taken up by Shakespeare 
and the poets, in favor of which the name of Caesar's 
Tower remains in popular use to this very day. A 
Roman wall can even yet be traced near some parts of 
the ditch. The buildings as we have them now in 
block and plan were commenced by William the Con- 
queror ; and the series of apartments in Caesar's Tower, 
— hall, gallery, council-chamber, chapel — were built 
in the early Norman reigns, and used as a royal 
residence by all our Norman kings. 

" From the reign of Stephen down to that of Henry 
of Richmond, Csesar's Tower (the great Norman 
keep, now called the White Tower) was a main part 
of the royal palace. Here were kept the royal ward- 
robe and the royal jewels ; and hither came with their 
goodly wares the tiremen, the goldsmiths, the chasers, 
and embroiderers from Flanders, Italy and Almaigne. 
Close by were the Mint, the lions' dens, the old 
archery-grounds, the Court of King's Bench, the 
Court of Common Pleas, the Queen's Gardens, the 
royal banqueting-hall ; so that art and trade, science 
and manners, literature and law, sport and politics 
find themselves equally at home." 1 

The Tower, which is now a government arsenal 
and fortress, occupies thirteen acres, surrounded by a 
double line of walls strengthened with towers. These 
are called the Outer Ward and the Inner Ward ; and 
in the centre stands conspicuously the great White 
Tower. The Inner Ward was the royal quarter, to 

1 William Hepworth Dixon. 

22 



The City of London 

which the people had no right of entry ; to the Outer 
Ward the people had free access. There are four 
entrances: the Lions' Gate on the west near the old 
menagerie ; the Iron Grate ; the Water Gate ; and the 
Traitors' Gate on the Thames. 

" All personages coming to the Tower in honor 
were landed at the Queen's Stair ; all personages com- 
ing in disgrace were pushed through the Traitors' 
Gate. Now a royal barge, with a queen on board, 
was going forth in her bravery of gold and pennons ; 
now a lieutenant's boat, returning with a culprit in 
the stern, a headsman standing at his side, holding in 
his hand the fatal axe. Beneath this arch has moved 
a long procession of our proudest poets, our fairest 
women, our bravest soldiers, our wittiest poets — 
Buckingham and Strafford, Lady Jane Grey, the 
Princess Elizabeth, William Wallace, David Bruce, 
Surrey, Raleigh — names in which the splendor, po- 
etry and sentiment of our national story are em- 
balmed. Most of them left it high in rank and rich 
in life, to return by the same dark passage in a few 
hours, poorer than the beggars who stood shivering 
on the bank ; in the eyes of the law, and in the words 
of their fellows, already dead." 1 

Amid the old gray-turreted walls, black gates and 
emerald green of the grass and leafy trees, the pictur- 
esque scarlet and black costumes of the Yeomen of the 
Guard or Beef -eaters (a costume dating from the 
institution of these Warders by Henry VII. ) appear 
to great advantage. 

1 William Hepworth Dixon. 
23 



A Guide to Cities 

Entering by the Lions' Gate, we pass over by means 
of a bridge the Moat that is now dry and turned into 
a garden, to the Byeward Tower, and hasten to the 
famous White Tower, the most ancient part of the 
fortress. The walls which are surmounted with tur- 
rets at each corner are from thirteen to fifteen feet 
thick, and beneath a staircase in the wall, which we 
ascend, were found the bones of the two young princes 
murdered by their uncle Richard III. In the dun- 
geons among others Guy Eawkes was confined. On 
the first floor, Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned for 
twelve years ; and here he wrote his " History of the 
World " ; above, on the next floor, is the Chapel of St. 
John, one of the finest specimens of early Norman 
architecture in England. On the next floor is the 
Council Room where Richard II. abdicated ; and the 
Banqueting Hall where the Kings of England used 
to hold their Court. Here at the present time is ex- 
hibited the wonderful collection of armor, including 
equestrian figures and foot soldiers placed in chron- 
ological order from the time of Edward I. (1272) to 
that of James II. (1688). There are also numerous 
weapons, saddles and helmets; and the walls and 
ceilings are covered with trophies of weapons marvel- 
lously arranged in the form of stars, coats-of-arms, 
and flowers. Among the latter is a large passion flow- 
er, the petals of which are formed by sabres and the 
centre by pistols. 

The Armories and the Crown Jewels are the only 
sights, as a rule, shown to visitors. The latter are 
now in the Record or Wakefield Tower. 

24 



The City of London 

The twelve towers of the Inner Ward have all been 
used as prisons ; and every stone has a dark story to 
tell. The sons of Edward IV. are said to have been 
murdered in the Bloody Tower ; Elizabeth is said to 
have been imprisoned in the Bell Tower; and Lady 
Jane Grey in the Brick Tower. Henry VI. is thought 
to have been murdered in the Record or Wakefield 
Tower. The Beef-eater who accompanies us will tell 
us all the legends and haunted spots ; but let us stop 
at the northwest corner of the parade at the Chapel 
of St. Peter ad Vincula, dating from 1305-6, in 
whose little churchyard many notable personages 
were buried and in front of which persons of rank 
were beheaded. Upon a stone here we read : " Site 
of the ancient scaffold. On this spot Queen Anne 
Boleyn was beheaded, May 19, 1536." 

!No monuments mark the graves of the illustrious 
victims buried within the church, which include Anne 
Boleyn, Katherine Howard, Lady Jane Grey, Guild- 
ford Dudley, the Duke of Suffolk, the Duke of Nor- 
folk, the Earl of Essex, the Countess of Salisbury 
and many others. 

Tower Hill skirts the Tower. A plate in Trinity 
Square Gardens now marks the place of the scaffold 
on which so much of the best blood in England was 
shed. Among the political offenders who lost their 
heads here may be mentioned Sir Simon Burley, 
Knight of the Garter, Sir Thomas More, the Protector 
Somerset, the Duke of Suffolk, the Earl of Strafford, 
Archbishop Laud, Algernon Sidney, and the Duke of 
Monmouth. The last execution was that of Lord 

25 



A Guide to Cities 

Lovat, in 1747, for his part in the second Jacobite 
Rebellion. 

On Tower Hill, also, William Penn was born, and 
the poet Otway died. On the western side of the Hill 
is a fragment of the old Roman wall. Here also is 
situated the Royal Mint. 

Beneath the river, from Tower Hill to Tooley 
Street, runs the Tower Subway, a tunnel, sixty feet 
deep, constructed in 1869-70 for foot passengers only. 

The large building with a broad quay in front that 
we next reach is the Custom House, built in 1814- 
17, the fourth Custom House erected on or near this 
site. The first of which there is any record dates 
from 1385. The building to the west of the Custom 
House is Billingsgate Market, the great Fish Market. 
It opens at four o'clock in the morning and is most 
interesting and characteristic in the early hours. 

Warehouses and wharves fill the bank from here 
to London Bridge: over them peep the spire of St. 
Mary Magnus and the tall Monument. 

Opposite St. Botolph's wharf, a bridge has always 
existed since the first record of wooden piles being 
driven there in 994. During the next two centuries 
the wooden bridge was thrice renewed. The first 
" stone bridge with buildings on it " was constructed 
in 1209. There were nineteen arches in old London 
Bridge. The seventeenth towards the Surrey shore 
had a drawbridge, a chapel and a gateway, over which 
traitors' heads were impaled. 

London Bridge has been the scene of many stirring 
events. In 1212, three thousand people were im- 

26 



The City of London 

prisoned on it by flames and burnt to death. Fifty 
years later, De Montfort repulsed Henry III. here, 
and the Londoners attacked the Queen's barge as she 
was trying to get through one of the arches. It was 
traitorously opened to Wat Tyler's rabble in 1381. 
A few years later, a Scotch and an English knight 
tilted on the bridge before the King and Court. 

In the days of Queen Elizabeth, fine houses and 
other buildings adorned with gardens and arbors on 
their flat roofs lined it on both sides. Near the draw- 
bridge stood " Nonsuch House," four stories high, 
built of wood, " made in Holland, marvellously carved 
and gilt." " As fine as London Bridge " passed into 
a proverb. 

The northern bank from London Bridge to Black- 
friars is picturesque and full of historic associations. 
St. Paul's towers above the buildings that occupy the 
sites of old castles, palaces and inns. 

Until the middle of the eighteenth century, London 
Bridge was the only means of crossing the river ex- 
cept by boat: therefore the Thames was London's 
great highway. There was no footway on the bridge, 
and only space enough for two vehicles to pass one 
another, so that pedestrians had to dodge in and out 
of the shop entrances on either side. A narrow thor- 
oughfare between two lines of houses was small ac- 
commodation for traffic; and so, the Thames water- 
man early thrived and multiplied. The city streets 
also were narrow, and often no better than quagmires, 
so that the most convenient and pleasant way to get 
from the Tower, say to Charing Cross, or Westmin- 

27 



A Guide to Cities 

ster, was by water. Bad roads and bad characters 
infesting them rendered the river far more safe and 
desirable as a route to more remote places, whenever 
available. 

The numerous landing-places made it easy to take 
a boat for pleasure or business: there were over a 
hundred of these " stairs/' as they were called, at the 
beginning of the eighteenth century. Even in Eliza- 
bethan days, the watermen were more numerous than 
those engaged in any other calling. In the reign of 
Queen Anne, also, Strype says: " There be 40,000 
watermen upon the rolls of the Watermen's Com- 
pany." 

The Thames from Greenwich to Westminster was 
used greatly for pleasure and pageantry. Picnics and 
water parties were every-day enjoyments of the Lon- 
don citizen. By boat also he visited the Bear Gardens, 
Yauxhall and other places of entertainment on the 
Surrey bank. The river was therefore a scene of 
busy life and animation. Along the north bank were 
the palaces of royalty and the nobility, each with its 
wharf or water gate. The royal residences in Tudor 
times were more numerous than at present, consist- 
ing of Greenwich, the Tower, Bridewell, Whitehall, 
Westminster, Chelsea, Hampton Court and Windsor. 
The magnificent royal barges going from one to an- 
other, and the splendid barges of the visiting nobles 
with their gorgeous retinues, were common sights on 
the river, which was thus enlivened with color and 
parade. 

Great pageants and ceremonies were also held on 
28 



The City of London 

the water. Up till 1857, the Lord Mayor's Show 
went to Westminster by water. Ambassadors and 
royal princes were received and escorted by the stately 
barges of the Lord Mayor and Companies with various 
" inventions, music and peals of ordnance." The 
splendor of some of these was by some writers con- 
sidered to exceed the Venetian pageants on the an- 
nual occasion of the espousal of the Adriatic. The 
last pageant of this nature took place in 1849, when 
the Prince Consort went down the river in state to 
open the Coal Exchange. 

In the old days sports of all kinds were held on 
the water. There were jousts and tiltings on boats 
with spear and shield, or staff and buckler, as the 
boats were rowed swiftly past one another. Boat rac- 
ing among the watermen was very common, one sur- 
vival of the contests being Doggett's coat-and-badge, 
still rowed for. One of the favorite jaunts of the 
citizens was a visit to the " Folly on the Thames," 
which is described as a floating summer-house with 
music situated near where Waterloo Bridge now 
crosses. 

" Even when a hard winter came, our ancestors 
were not to be denied their fun upon the Thames. 
For on January 24th, which lasted from the begin- 
ning of December until well into February, Evelyn 
says that he saw on the frozen river l bull-baiting, 
horse and coach races, puppet plays and interludes, 
cookes and tippling places, so that it seemed a bac- 
chanalian triumph.' " 

On the south bank, London Bridge opens into 
29 



A Guide to Cities 

Southwark, popularly known as the Borough. " In 
the Borough there still remain some half dozen old 
inns which have preserved their external features un- 
changed. Great rambling, queer old places, with gal- 
leries and passages and staircases wide enough and 
antiquated enough to furnish materials for a hun- 
dred ghost stories." When Dickens wrote these 
words, the old Tabard Inn from which Chaucer's 
Canterbury Pilgrims started on their journey through 
Kent on that lovely April morning was still stand- 
ing. The White Hart, a similar inn, also in High 
Street, mentioned by Shakespeare in Henry VI. and 
where Mr. Pickwick found Sam Weller engaged as 
" boots " was not pulled down until 1889. The Mar- 
shalsea Gaol, familiar to readers of " Little Dor- 
rit," stood near St. George's Church at the corner 
of Great Dover and High Streets. 

Behind the warehouses, and almost directly oppo- 
site Old Swan Pier, we see the square tower of St. 
Saviour's, since 1905 Southwark Cathedral. It is 
one of the finest mediaeval buildings in London. 

The church was entirely rebuilt in the thirteenth 
century largely by private contribution. The poet 
Gower, who lies in a fine Gothic tomb within the 
Church, gave largely to the cause. The Choir and 
Lady Chapel belong to the early thirteenth century, 
but the nave has been recently rebuilt. In this church, 
James I. of Scotland, the Koyal poet, was married to 
Jane Beaufort, whom he saw in the garden from his 
prison window at Windsor, as he describes in the 
" King's Quhair." In St. Saviour's, heretics were 

30 



The City of London 

condemned to the fires of Smithfield during the reign 
of Bloody Mary ; here John Harvard, the founder of 
Harvard University, was baptized in 1607 ; and here 
are buried John Gower, Philip Massinger, John 
Fletcher, Edmond Shakespeare and Alexander 
Cruden, of Concordance fame. 

From this point as far as Blackfriars Bridge 
stretches the district known as Bankside, celebrated 
for its theatres and other places of amusement, and 
rich in associations with Shakespeare and other Eliza- 
bethan dramatists and actors. The old Globe Theatre, 
in which so many of Shakespeare's plays were pro- 
duced, is supposed to have stood on the site now occu- 
pied by a large brewery. Not far away stood the 
Eose Theatre, the Hope Theatre, the Swan Theatre, 
and the Paris Garden Theatre. The latter stood in a 
garden, " so dark with trees that one man could not 
see another unless they had lynxes or cats' eyes," Mr. 
Fleetwood wrote to Lord Burghley in 1578 regarding 
the secret meetings held here by the French Ambas- 
sador and his agents. The Paris Garden Theatre was 
used almost entirely for bear-and-bull baiting. Bear- 
and-bull baiting also took place in the Bear Gardens 
here until the reign of William III. 

Westward of Bankside as far as Westminster 
Bridge, the south side of the river was originally a 
low swampy tract called Lambeth Marsh which the 
water covered at every tide. Until about a century 
ago, it was a district of open fields and deep ditches 
where a few unsavory places of amusement stood. 
Since, however, the three bridges — Blackfriars, Wa- 

31 



A Guide to Cities 

terloo and Westminster — were built, the whole bank 
has been lined with wharves. The only object of 
interest here is the old shot tower built soon after 
1782. 

Leaving London Bridge, the iron bridge of three 
spans that we next pass under leads into Cannon 
Street Station. This was the site of the old Steel- 
yard, the headquarters in London of the Hanseatic 
League. Then we come to two old wharves, Dowgate 
and Walbrook, which are situated at the mouth of 
the Walbrook, a small stream that formerly flowed 
through the city and fell into the Thames at this 
point. 

Next comes Southwark Bridge of three spans, 
which Kobert Stevenson described as an " example of 
arch construction confessedly unrivalled as regards 
its colossal proportions, its architectural effect, and the 
general simplicity and massive character of its de- 
tails." 

At this place, in old days, the Fleet, which gave 
its name to Fleet Street and the old Fleet Prison, fell 
into the Thames. It was variously called the Fleet 
River and the Hole-burn (the stream in the hollow) 
whence the name Holborn. In early days this spot 
was lined with busy quays, and thronged with boats, 
but gradually it became a foul ditch, and silted up, 
and at last had to be covered over. Now it exists 
only as a sewer. 

Between Blackfriars and Westminster, the north- 
ern bank is not only rich in historical associations, 
but is pictorially fine and imposing. The long, broad 



The City of London 

stone Victoria Embankment is fringed with trees and 
backed with splendid buildings and occasionally an 
ornamental garden where the public can enjoy the 
trees and flowers and music in the summer. 

The old Strand palaces of the nobility that stood 
here have been demolished from time to time, and the 
ground is now occupied by public gardens, govern- 
ment offices and other institutions. The great build- 
ing adjoining Waterloo Bridge is Somerset House. 
It was first built in the reign of Edward VI. by the 
Protector Somerset. When the Stuarts came to the 
throne, Somerset House was made a royal residence, 
especially for the queens. Catherine of Braganza was 
the last royal personage to live in it. Somerset House 
was pulled down in 1775 when Buckingham House 
(now Palace) was given to Queen Charlotte, and the 
present edifice, designed by Sir William Chambers, 
was erected. In 1828-31 the east wing, King's Col- 
lege — was added; and in 1853 the west wing. 

Waterloo Bridge, of nine elliptical granite spans, 
was opened in 1817 ; it is considered one of the finest 
stone bridges in the world. Canova declared " it was 
worthy of the Komans." The Duke of Wellington 
was the first passenger to cross it. 

The Savoy and Cecil hotels occupy the sites of old 
palaces; and so does the Adelphi, which comes next. 
On the edge of the Embankment here stands the fa- 
mous Cleopatra's Needle, a companion to the one in 
New York. 

In the Victoria Embankment Gardens, in front of 
the Adelphi, a band plays on summer evenings ; and 

33 



A Guide to Cities 

the gardens are illuminated after dark. The London 
County Council appoints a committee to raise the 
musical taste of the million by selecting the pro- 
grammes from the best composers. 

The buildings between this and Charing Cross 
Railway Station are on the grounds of a palace that 
once belonged to the powerful favorite of James I. 
George Street, Villiers Street, Duke Street, and Buck- 
ingham Street keep alive his memory. The old Water 
Gate is in its original position on the north side of 
the ornamental gardens. 

The river takes a sharp turn at Charing Cross. 
The railway bridge was built in 1860-64 to replace 
the Hungerford Suspension Bridge; and the Char- 
ing Cross Railway Station occupies the site of old 
Hungerford Market. We are now approaching West- 
minster, anciently Thorney (the isle of brambles). 
In the earliest times a ferry existed between this spot 
and Lambeth, and thus it formed a link in the old 
route from the interior of England to the Continent, 
for people crossed the ferry and passed over the Lam- 
beth marshes to Blackheath. 

The present bridge, which has seven spans, is the 
widest of the Thames bridges, and seen from the Sur- 
rey side it forms a fine foreground for the Houses of 
Parliament. 

The buildings group beautifully at this point. The 
Houses of Parliament have a magnificent river front, 
940 feet long, embellished with statues of the kings 
and queens of England, and three great towers, the 
Clock Tower (318 feet), the Middle Tower (300 

34 



The City of London 

feet) and the Victoria Tower (340 feet). In the 
Clock Tower is hung the famous bell called " Big 
Ben/' named for Sir Benjamin Hall, Commissioner 
of Works. It weighs thirteen tons and booms out the 
hours, although it has long been cracked. The first 
stone of the Houses of Parliament, for which the 
architects were Pugin and Sir Charles Barry, was 
laid in 1840. The building covers eight acres, con- 
tains 1,100 apartments, and stands on the site of the 
old Koyal Palace. The public entrance to the build- 
ings is on the west side, from the Old Palace yard, 
one of the original court-yards. The long, low struc- 
ture is finally relieved by the towers. Behind the 
Houses of Parliament rise the two towers of West- 
minster Abbey, which comes into full view as we 
glide along the river. 

We have seen nothing on the opposite bank for 
a long time but warehouses, etc. ; but at Westminster 
Bridge begins the Albert Embankment which reaches 
to Vauxhall Bridge. The red brick building, with 
white stone facings near Westminster Bridge, is St. 
Thomas's Hospital, built in 1868-71, but which was 
founded by the Prior of Bermondsey as an almonry 
in 1213. Adjoining it is the venerable Lambeth 
Palace, the London residence of the Archbishops of 
Canterbury. 

The ancient gray and white building, in its beauti- 
ful park of eighteen acres, has a picturesque appear- 
ance. Although much of it has been restored and 
altered, and the residential portions only date from 
1830-40, much of the Palace is of great antiquity 

35 



A Guide to Cities 

and architectural interest. Lambeth Palace was built 
by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1189 and rebuilt 
in 1262. Among the noteworthy features that re- 
main are the Great Gateway, or Morton's Tower, built 
by Archbishop Morton in 1486-1502 and one of the 
finest Early Tudor gatehouses in existence ; the Wa- 
ter Tower built in 1434-35, also called the Lollards' 
Tower because some of the Lollards are supposed to 
have been imprisoned in it, and which contained the 
water gate through which the Palace was entered from 
the river ; the Chapel, built in 1244-70 ; Great Hall, 
or Juxon's Hall, built in 1663 ; and the Guard Room, 
or Dining Hall, rebuilt in 1833, but still preserving 
its original open roof. Many historical associations 
cluster around Lambeth Palace. Here Wycliff was 
examined by bishops regarding his religious opinions ; 
here Anne Boleyn learned by decree that her mar- 
riage was annulled; here came Wat Tyler and his 
rabble to behead the Archbishop and plunder and 
burn the treasures of the Palace ; and here came the 
mob during the uprisings of the Puritans to attack 
Archbishop Laud, who, having fortified the keep, de- 
fended his castle nobly. After the death of Charles 
L, one of the regicides, Colonel Scott, bought it and 
made many changes. The Library contains many 
books and MSS. of great historical interest. 

Close by Lambeth Palace stands the Church of 
St. Mary, containing tombs of several Archbishops of 
Canterbury. We now pass under Lambeth Bridge, a 
suspension bridge built in 1862-63. Formerly there 
was a ferry here, which was used by the fleeing Queen 

36 



The City of London 

of James II. with her infant son in 1688, on a stormy 
night. They took refuge under the tower of St. 
Mary, Lambeth. 

Returning to the other bank, Grosvenor Embank- 
ment now begins. In this district was situated Tot- 
hill Fields, " the Smithfield of western London," 
where in Queen Elizabeth's time archery, wrestling 
and other sports were indulged in by the Yeomen 
class. Bull and bear-baiting and cock-fighting also 
took place here. 

Near Vauxhall Bridge, and occupying part of the 
site of old Millbank prison, is the Tate Gallery, 
founded by Sir Henry Tate and opened in 1897. 
It is devoted to modern British art. 

Almost directly opposite, on the south bank, just 
before we come to Vauxhall Bridge, were situated 
the old Vauxhall Gardens, opened in 1660, celebrated 
for their fetes, masquerades, fireworks, musical and 
dramatic entertainments ; and so often alluded to by 
Pepys, Evelyn, Horace Walpole, and other contem- 
porary writers. They were not finally closed until 
1859. 

The next bridges that we pass are the Pimlico Rail- 
way Bridge and the Chelsea or Victoria Bridge. 
Chelsea Bridge marks the beginning of Chelsea which, 
until the beginning of the last century, was a country 
village, but which is now a part of London. The 
Chelsea Embankment, extending from the Chelsea 
Bridge to Battersea Bridge, was built in 1871-74. 
The large building that stands in extensive grounds 
is Chelsea Hospital for old and invalid soldiers. The 

37 



A Guide to Cities 

building was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. 
Next conies Cheyne Walk, a row of red brick bouses 
famous for their associations. George Eliot lived 
and died in No. 4 ; Rossetti, the poet and painter, and 
Swinburne lived in No. 16, called the Queen's House, 
because it was the residence of Catherine of Brag- 
anza, the neglected wife of Charles II. ; the famous 
dandy Count D'Orsay lived in No. 19 ; and No. 18 
was Don Saltero's Museum and Coffee House, often 
alluded to by Steele, Swift and others. From No. 18 
to Oakley Street marks the space occupied by Henry 
VIII.'s Manor House, built in 1536. Here Queen 
Elizabeth spent much of her girlhood. Thomas Car- 
lyle also lived in Cheyne Walk, the house being now 
a Carlyle museum. 

Battersea Bridge is the second of the name. The 
first Battersea Bridge was a picturesque old timber 
bridge of nineteen spans. Cheyne Walk still con- 
tinues along the north bank and includes old Lind- 
say Row where Whistler once lived ; and below these 
■Q.ve houses the painter Turner resided. Here, too, 
was situated Chelsea Farm, the home of the religious 
Lady Huntingdon, which subsequently became Cre- 
morne House and later Cremorne Gardens, a well- 
known place of amusement. Nothing has attracted 
our attention on the south side of the river since 
we left Lambeth, but now Battersea Park comes into 
view. This was formerly Battersea Fields, where 
the Duke of Wellington, when Prime Minister, fought 
a duel with the Earl of Winchelsea in 1829. 

Battersea, Wandsworth and Putney (also on the 
38 



The City of London 

south bank), were once separate rural villages; but 
are now absorbed into London. The monotony of the 
other side of the river beyond Wandsworth Bridge, 
opened in 1873 ; is occasionally broken by handsome 
houses and grounds, one of which is Hurlingham 
House, built in 1760, now the headquarters of a club 
devoted to polo, tennis, archery, etc. Farther along 
comes Mulgrave House, built in the middle of the 
eighteenth century and resided in by various notable 
tenants; and then comes Fulham, famous for its lit- 
erary associations. The old Gothic Tower of All 
Saints Church (96 feet high), immediately west of 
Putney (or Fulham) Bridge, dates from 1440; but 
the church has been rebuilt. 

Behind Fulham Park stands Fulham Palace, the 
official residence of the Bishops of London, an old 
Tudor building of red and black bricks, the best por- 
tions of which are the Gothic Tower, the Great Hall, 
Bishop Tait's Chapel (modern), and the Porteous 
Library. The old barn is nearly four centuries old, 
and the gardens are notable. 

Piers and wharves now mark the site of villas with 
gardens that once lined the bank until we reach busy 
Hammersmith, once famous for its market-gardens, 
dairy-farms, orchards and fine residences. Beyond 
Hammersmith Bridge and Pier appears the first of 
the small islands that mark the upper Thames, Chis- 
wick Eyot. We will now return and land at West- 
minster. 

The first Palace of Westminster was built by King 
Canute, and was burned down in the reign of Edward 

39 



A Guide to Cities 

the Confessor, who erected another in which he died. 
Here the Kings of England resided until Henry 
VIII. removed to Whitehall. The Palace was 
burned in 1834. The only portions that escaped the 
flames were Westminster Hall and St. Stephen's 
Crypt. 

Westminster Hall is one of the oldest and most in- 
teresting buildings in London. The first hall was 
built by William Rufus in 1097, and was almost en- 
tirely destroyed by fire in 1291. It was restored in 
1398, by Eichard II., who gave it the fine oak roof. 
The hall is 290 feet long, 68 feet broad and 92 feet 
high, and is said to be the largest room in the world 
unsupported by pillars. From the days of William 
Rufus, Coronation banquets were always held in this 
Hall, which has witnessed so many great scenes. 
Some of the earliest councils and parliaments were 
held here, and also royal courts of justice. In West- 
minster Hall, Edward III. received the Black Prince 
after the Battle of Poitiers; here Richard II. was 
deposed ; here Oliver Cromwell was inaugurated Lord 
Protector; here were held the Trial of the Seven 
Bishops, and the trial of Warren Hastings ; and here 
Sir Thomas More, Sir Thomas Wyat, the Duke of 
Norfolk, the Earl of Essex, the Protector Somerset, 
Charles I., Guy Fawkes and the Earl of Strafford 
were condemned to death. 

From 1547 to 1834, the House of Commons used 
St. Stephen's Chapel, which was built by King Steph- 
en, and rebuilt by Edward I. and Edward II. The 
Crypt only remains. The name, however, survives, 

40 



The City of London 

in St. Stephen's Porch and St. Stephen's Hall, 
through which we pass to enter the Octagon Hall. 
On the right of the latter is the House of Lords, and 
on the left the House of Commons. 

Westminster Abbey is built in the form of a Latin 
cross with twelve chapels beyond the arms or tran- 
sept. It is one of the most beautiful churches in 
the world. Columns and arches of noble proportions, 
marvellous carvings, shadowy aisles, and the soft 
light from old stained-glass windows give an impres- 
sion of solemn beauty that is never forgotten. 

According to tradition, Sebert, King of the East 
Saxons, who died in 616, erected a church here that 
was dedicated to St. Peter. This, having fallen into 
ruin, was rebuilt and restored by King Edgar, who 
also founded here a Benedictine monastery. The 
present Westminster Abbey had its origin with Ed- 
ward the Confessor. The church was consecrated on 
December 28, 1065, a week before the King's death- 
Nothing remains of it but the Chapel of the Pyx. 
Near the South Transept, the lower walls of the 
South Cloister, and part of the Refectory. Henry 
III. built the Confessor's Chapel, the side aisles and 
their chapels, and the choir and transepts. Edward 
I. made other additions; in the reign of Edward 
III. the Jerusalem Chamber was added ; and Henry 
VII. pulled down the Lady Chapel and built his own 
beautiful addition. 

Westminster Abbey has been the burial-place of 
England's great dead for more than eight centuries. 
Kings, queens and other members of royal families 

41 



A Guide to Cities 

lie in what Macaulay calls " this great temple of 
silence and reconciliation." The famous Poet's Cor- 
ner, containing tombs and monuments to many of 
England's great men of letters, is situated in the 
South Transept. It is crowded with busts, monu- 
ments and tablets on the walls and floor. 

To see the tombs of Chaucer and Edmund Spenser 
is an experience that is not soon forgotten. Many 
tombs and monuments to warriors and statesmen are 
to be seen in the North Transept ; and all the chapels 
contain a goodly stone population: 

" I wandered among what once were chapels, but 
which are now occupied by the tombs and monuments 
of the great. At every turn, I met with some illus- 
trious name, or the cognizance of some powerful 
house renowned in history. As the eye darts into 
these dusky chambers of death, it catches glimpses of 
quaint effigies: some kneeling in niches as if in de- 
votion; others stretched upon the tombs, with hands 
piously pressed together ; warriors in armour, as if 
reposing after battle; prelates, with croziers and 
mitres ; and nobles in robes and coronets, lying as it 
were in State. In glancing over this scene, so 
strangely populous, yet where every form is so still 
and silent, it seems almost as if we were treading a 
mansion of that fabled city, where every being had 
been suddenly transmuted into stone." 1 

The tomb of Sebert, King of the East Saxons, 

616, and his Queen Ethelgoda, is the oldest in the 

Abbey. In Edward the Confessor's Chapel, behind 

1 Washington Irving. 

42 



The City of London 

the High Altar, is his shrine, which was erected in 
1269 by Henry III. ; also the tombs of Edward I. ; 
Queen Eleanor ; Henry III. ; Edward III. ; Queen 
Philippa ; and Kichard III. Here too are preserved 
the two Coronation Chairs, one of which contains the 
Stone of Scone, brought from Scone Abbey by Ed- 
ward I. This stone was reputed to be the one on 
which Jacob laid his head at Bethel, and it served as 
a seat for the Kings of Scotland at their coronation. 
Since Edward I. brought it to England, every Eng- 
lish monarch sat above it during his coronation. 
Every English sovereign from Harold the Dane to 
King Edward VII. has been crowned in Westminster 
Abbey. 

Of all the chapels, that of Henry VII. is the most 
beautiful. It is practically a church, consisting of a 
nave, two aisles and five chapels at the east end. In 
the nave are the marvellously carved stalls of the 
Knights of the Bath, above which droop their faded 
and dusty banners. The whole chapel, which has 
been described as " the miracle of the world," is a 
mass of wonderful carving, and the pillars that sup- 
port the roof are the best examples of what is called 
" fan-shaped tracery," while the roof itself is fretted 
with all the delicacy and skill of a spider's web. 
Here stand the tombs of the founder, Henry VII. 
and his wife, Elizabeth of York ; and here lie Queen 
Elizabeth and her victim, Mary, Queen of Scots. 
Queen Anne also sleeps here. 

On the east side of Westminster are St. Stephen's 
Cloisters, built by Henry VIII. ; and on the west 

43 



A Guide to Cities 

side is St. Margaret's, the parish church of Westmin- 
ster, and the especial church of the House of Com- 
mons. It was founded by Edward the Confessor; 
and contains some beautiful carvings, and one of the 
most wonderful old windows in England, ordered by 
Ferdinand and Isabella in Gouda as a gift to the new 
chapel that Henry VII. was building in honor of the 
marriage of his son with their daughter Katherine. 
The beautiful west window was presented in 1882 by 
Americans as a memorial to Sir Walter Raleigh, who 
was beheaded in front of Westminster Palace and 
buried under the altar of St. Margaret's. On the 
window is an inscription by James Russell Lowell. 

St. Margaret's contains many fine tombs of per- 
sonages connected with Elizabethan and Jacobean 
history. 

From Westminster by way of Parliament Street 
and Whitehall we reach Charing Cross. This district 
is now occupied by Government Offices. In old days, 
the road now called Whitehall was bordered by the 
buildings and grounds of the Palace of Whitehall, 
which was originally the town residence of the Arch- 
bishop of York, and therefore called York House. 
When Henry VIII. obtained possession of it, the 
name was changed to Whitehall. 

Here many interesting events took place. Henry 
VIII. died in Whitehall ; from Whitehall, Elizabeth 
was carried as prisoner to the Tower ; and to White- 
hall she returned as Queen of England ; at Whitehall 
Charles I. was beheaded; here Cromwell lived with 
his secretary, John Milton, and here Cromwell died ; 

44 



The City of London 

here also Charles II. held his court ; and here he died 
in 1685. After Whitehall was burned, in 1697, St. 
James's Palace became the royal residence. At pres- 
ent, only the Banqueting Hall, built by James I., re- 
mains ; and it was from an opening made in the wall 
between the central windows that Charles I. stepped 
on to the scaffold that had been specially erected in 
the street below. 

Here stands the Horse-Guards, the office of the 
commander-in-chief of the army, originally the 
guard-house of the Palace. 

Behind the Horse-Guards lies St. James's Park, 
bounded by the Mall and Birdcage Walk, leading to 
Buckingham Palace. 

It contains ninety-one acres and is a beautiful spot 
with its green grass, fine trees, winding walks and sil- 
very lake, the home of many aquatic birds of lovely 
plumage. 

The grounds and buildings of Buckingham Palace 
occupy about forty-three acres. At the back of the 
Palace lie the gardens, which are separated by a road, 
called Constitution Hill, from Green Park, which 
contains sixty acres. Hyde Park, being the central 
point of the district in which royalty and the nobil- 
ity and gentry reside, is the haunt of wealth and 
fashion. Park Lane skirts the east end, and May- 
fair and Clubdom are at hand. Hyde Park Corner, 
therefore, is the entrance the visitor always seeks in 
order to see swell London, on parade. 

On entering the Park, two roads on the left lead 
to Kensington Gardens. One is the Carriage Eoad 

45 



A Guide to Cities 

and the other Rotten Row (probably Route du Roi, 
the King's Road), London's fashionable ride, a mile 
and a half long. Early in the morning people ride 
there for exercise ; at one o'clock, chiefly for parade ; 
but after luncheon, the Row is deserted. North 
of Rotten Row lies the Serpentine, a pretty lake 
made at the instance and cost of Queen Caroline, wife 
of George II. The Serpentine is a famous racing 
place for model yachts, and occasionally in the win- 
ter affords good skating. Beyond the Serpentine is a 
road called the Ring and the Ladies' Mile. A bridge 
separates the Serpentine from the Long Water in 
Kensington Gardens ; and beyond the bridge is the 
Powder Magazine, the starting place for London's 
Four-in-Hand and Coaching Clubs during the sea- 
son. Kensington Gardens (210 acres) adjoins Hyde 
Park. Here stands Kensington Palace, brought by 
William III. from the Earl of Nottingham. Queen 
Anne died here and here Queen Victoria was born. 
To the south of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens 
is South Kensington, with its famous Institutes and 
Museums. 

Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park are bounded 
on the north by the Bayswater Road. At the Marble 
Arch, Edgeware Road, and Park Lane, Oxford Street 
begins; and, with its continuations — Holborn and 
Newgate Street — runs eastwards to the general Post 
Office, at the top of Cheapside. 

On the way down Oxford Street we turn down 
Duke Street, which takes us into Manchester Square, 
where stands Hertford House, the present home of 

46 



The City of London 

the famous Wallace Collection of pictures, furniture, 
etc. Farther on we come to Great Russell Street, 
which will take us to the British Museum, with its 
great library and its collections of Greek, Roman, 
Egyptian and Assyrian sculptures and Greek and 
Etruscan vases. 

Oxford and Holborn Streets form an important 
shopping thoroughfare. The only important relics of 
the past are St. Sepulchre's Church and the remains 
of Christ's Hospital (Bluecoat School) in Newgate 
Street. 

The bells of St. Sepulchre's always used to toll 
during a public hanging. This church was injured, 
but not destroyed, by the Great Eire; and, conse- 
quently, some of the old building is left. In St. 
Sepulchre's, Captain John Smith, once Governor of 
Virginia, is buried. It used to be the custom to 
present criminals on their way to execution with a 
nosegay from the steps of St. Sepulchre's; for the 
church had for its neighbour the old Newgate 
Prison. 

Near St. Sepulchre's Church, up Giltspur Street, 
is Pye Corner, where the Great Fire ended. Beyond 
it is Cock Lane, the scene of the Cock Lane Ghost 
that excited all London in 1762. Beyond Giltspur 
Street lies Smithfield, just beyond the City wall, the 
scene of tournaments, fairs and recreations. Here, 
too, during the reign of Bloody Mary, the Protestant 
martyrs were burned. The stake was placed opposite 
the gate of St. Bartholomew's Priory; and many 
charred human bones were dug up at this spot during 

47 



A Guide to Cities 

some excavations in 1849. Here, too, was the scene 
of the famous Bartholomew Fair, dating from the 
reign of Henry I., which used to last for a fortnight, 
with its shows of dancing dogs and bears, morris- 
dancers, wild beasts, monstrosities, etc. Smithfield 
Market for the sale of cattle once included nearly all 
of Smithfield ; but now two smaller markets for fruit 
and fish extend to Farringdon Street. The fine old 
church of St. Bartholomew the Great is part of the 
old priory of St. Bartholomew, founded in 1102 by 
Rahere, the King's minstrel, who became a monk, 
and was its first prior. St. Bartholomew's Hospital, 
originally a part of the Priory, was also spared by 
the Great Fire, but was rebuilt by Gibbs in 1730. It 
is now one of England's most important schools of 
medicine and surgery. !N~ear the Priory of St. Bar- 
tholomew, Wat Tyler, at the head of the rebels, was 
slain by the Mayor of London. 

Returning now to Hyde Park Corner, Piccadilly, 
which runs from this point to Regent Street, is one 
of the finest streets in London, devoted to splendid 
residences and shops that cater to a wealthy class of 
customers. It is always gay with private equipages, 
cabs, omnibuses and streams of fashionably dressed 
people. 

Parallel with Piccadilly is Pall Mall, another 
street of clubs and brilliant shops and shoppers. Pall 
Mall brings us back to Trafalgar Square, at which we 
arrived by way of Whitehall. 

At the north end of Whitehall a very attractive 
scene is presented. On our left is Pall Mall ; on our 

48 



The City of London 

right, the Strand ; while directly in front of us lies 
Trafalgar Square. In 1840-49, Nelson's column was 
erected ; and many years afterwards Landseer's four 
lions were placed here. In 1832, the National Gal- 
lery was begun on the north side of the square ; and, 
in 1874, Northumberland House, the last of the 
Strand palaces, was pulled down, and Northumber- 
land Avenue cut through to the river. One old land- 
mark remains on the east side of the square, the 
Church of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, erected by 
Gibbs in 1721-26. 

In the Charing Cross Station yard stands a mod- 
ern copy of Queen Eleanor's Cross, the last of the 
nine crosses erected in 1291 by Edward I. to mark 
every spot on which her coffin rested on the funeral 
procession from Lincoln to Westminster Abbey, 
whence the name, Charing, i.e. La Cliere reine (the 
dear queen) is said to be derived. The original cross, 
octagonal and decorated with paintings and gilt metal 
figures, w r as removed by the Long Parliament in 
1647, because it was deemed " superstitious and idol- 
atrous." For twenty-seven years its site was unoccu- 
pied ; and in the railed-off space the regicides Spiet 
their fate. On October 13, 1660, Pepys describes 
Harrison's death: 

" I went out to Charing Cross to see Major-Gen- 
eral Harrison hanged, drawn and quartered; which 
was done there, he looking as cheerful as any man 
could do in that condition. He was presently cut 
down, and his head and heart shown to the people, 
at which there were great shouts of joy . . . Thus it 

49 



A Guide to Cities 

was my chance to see the King beheaded at White- 
hall, and to see the first blood shed in revenge for the 
King at Charing Cross." 

The Strand is a part of one highway that connects 
the City of London with the West End. There is 
little in it to remind us that it follows the strand, or 
shore, of the Thames. It is lined with theatres, 
shops and restaurants; and crowded with cabs, om- 
nibuses, carriages and foot passengers ; and long lines 
of persons waiting at the theatre doors, are a char- 
acteristic feature. On our way towards the City we 
pass two churches — St. Mary-le-Strand, built by 
James Gibbs in 1714-17, on the site where the old 
May-pole used to stand before the days of the Puri- 
tans ; and St. Clement's Danes, an ancient church re- 
built in 1680. Each stands on an island in the great 
highway. 

Eleet Street is a continuation of the Strand. In 
the middle of the road is the monument marking the 
site of Temple Bar, now removed to Theobald's Park, 
Waltham Cross, Herts. Here are the Law Courts, 
an extensive structure of the Gothic style of architec- 
ture. The Law Courts were removed from Westmin- 
ster in 1882. 

South of Eleet Street lie the Temple buildings, 
consisting of the Inner Temple Hall and Library, and 
the Middle Temple Hall and Library. These two 
Temples constitute two of the four Inns of Court. 
The Temple was originally a lodge of the Knights 
Templar, a religious and military Order founded in 
Jerusalem in the Twelfth Century to protect the 

50 



The City of London 

Holy Sepulchre. When the order was abolished in 
1313, its possessions became Crown property. The 
division into two Halls dates from the time of Henry 
VI. ; and, ever since that date, the Inner and Middle 
Temple have been perfectly distinct, although their 
gateways are close to one another, and their courts 
and passages join. 

Middle Temple Hall, with its splendid Elizabeth- 
an roof, was built in 1572. " Twelfth Night" was 
first played here on February 2, 1601-2. Middle 
Temple was famous for its feasts and entertain- 
ments. 

Temple Church, a circular church built by the 
Knights Templar in 1185, on their return from the 
Second Crusade, is shared by both the Middle and 
Inner Temple. The interior is divided into two 
parts — the Round Church and the Choir. The 
Round Church is the most ancient part ; and here are 
nine monuments of Templars of the twelfth and 
thirteenth centuries. 

Oliver Goldsmith, who lived and died in Middle 
Temple Lane, is buried in the churchyard. 

In order to become a barrister in England the stu- 
dent has to pass through one of the four Inns of 
Court, which possess the exclusive right of " calling 
to the bar." The Inns are governed by older mem- 
bers called Benchers; and are Lincoln's Inn, Gray's 
Inn, and the Inner and Middle Temple. 

Lincoln's Inn (off Chancery Lane) derives its 
name from the Earl of Lincoln, who took the old 
Blackfriars monastery on this site for his town house. 

51 



A Guide to Cities 

At his death in 1512, it became an Inn of Court. 
Some of the buildings date from the time of James I. 
The splendid library, founded in 1497, is the oldest 
in London. The fine gateway is one of the four old- 
est standing in London: it dates from 1518. 

Gray's Inn is not far away, in Holborn; and takes 
its name from Lord Gray de Wilton of Henry VII. 's 
time. It has existed as a law school since 1371. The 
beautiful Elizabethan Hall was built in 1560; and 
contains fine wainscots, carvings and stained-glass 
windows of the Tudor period. In this hall Shake- 
speare's " Comedy of Errors " was acted in 1594. 
The fine garden was laid out by Sir Francis Bacon, 
who studied here ; and died here in his old chambers. 
Gray's Inn Walks was a fashionable promenade in 
the seventeenth century. Returning now to Temple 
Bar: 

Fleet Street, famous for its newspaper offices, was 
the very cradle of printing. Wynkyn de Worde, an 
assistant of Caxton, printed books " at the Signe of 
the Swane in Fletestre " before 1500; and Richarde 
Pynson printed a book at the " temple barre of Lon- 
don in 1493." Fleet Street was also a great street 
for shows and waxworks, also for taverns such as 
the Mitre, the Cock, the old Cheshire Cheese and 
the Rainbow. Milton, Izaak Walton, Dr. Johnson, 
Goldsmith and many other literary lights, haunt 
Fleet Street. Milton once lived near St. Bride's, ad- 
joining the old office of Punch. 

Ludgate Hill ! The very name takes us back to 
legendary London, for it is the site of one of the 

52 



The City of London 

ancient gates of the City. King Lud is said to have 
built one here sixty-six years before the birth of 
Christ. The old gate familiar to the Londoners of 
the Middle Ages, stood where Ludgate Hill Viaduct 
crosses the street; and above this looms the noble 
dome of St. Paul's Cathedral. 

Passing under the viaduct, we pause a moment to 
look at the yard of a famous old inn, La Belle Sau- 
vage. The inn is supposed to have been named in 
honor of Pocahontas, who became the rage in Lon- 
don when she went there as the bride of John Eolfe 
in 1616. She was presented at Court, and called 
<( La Belle Sauvage." Every novelty bore her name, 
and many taverns had the beautiful Indian for a 
sign. 

We now mount the steep Ludgate Hill to St. Paul's 
Churchyard, and pass the Statue of Queen Anne 
which fronts us. Old St. Paul's was larger than the 
present Cathedral. It was one of the most magnifi- 
cent churches in Europe, of Gothic architecture, like 
Westminster Abbey, with noble aisles, glowing win- 
dows, shrines glittering with jewels, and was adorned 
with rich carvings, and filled with treasures. In the 
course of time, it had also become a favourite meet- 
ing place for Londoners in the daytime : here mer- 
chants transacted their business; here lawyers re- 
ceived their clients ; here servants came to apply for 
service; and here the fops and gallants came to dis- 
play their fine costumes. The middle aisle was 
called " Paul's Walk " and also " Duke Humphrey's 
Walk," from a mistaken idea that the tomb of the 

53 



A Guide to Cities 

Earl of Warwick was that of Humphrey, Duke of 
Gloucester. Anyone who was forced to go dinner- 
less for lack of means or invitations used to say that 
he had " dined with Duke Humphrey." During the 
Puritan rule, the Parliamentary soldiers played 
nine-pins in the churchyard, and stabled their horses 
in the building 

In the north-east corner of the churchyard stood 
Paul's Cross, a wooden pulpit covered with lead stand- 
ing on stone steps and surmounted by a cross, from 
which sermons were preached, Papal Bulls issued, 
excommunications announced and heretics carried 
off to Smithfield. Here Jane Shore did penance in 
a white sheet with a taper in her hand in the fif- 
teenth century; and here Queen Elizabeth listened 
to the thanksgiving sermon for the defeat of the 
Spanish Armada (November 24, 1588). Parliament 
had " Paules Cross " destroyed in 1643. 

Eight years elapsed after the Great Eire before 
the site was cleared for the present St. Paul's, the 
building of which was entrusted to Sir Christopher 
Wren. The first stone was laid on June 21, 1675, 
and the last stone on the lantern of the dome was 
placed in 1710. 

When Sir Christopher was laying the founda- 
tions, he came across relics of three different ages: 
first, Saxon coffins and tombs; next, Koman lamps 
and arms; and, deeper still, British graves and or- 
naments. 

The interior is vast and noble. The nave, formed 
by an arcade resting on massive pillars dividing the 

54 



The City of London 

church into a body and two aisles, is separated from 
the choir by a space over which the cupola rises, and 
from which the north and south transepts diverge. 
Under the cupola is the famous Whispering Gallery. 
The exquisite carvings of the choir-stalls are the 
work of Grinling Gibbons. The rich marble reredos 
was put up in 1888 at a cost of nearly £30,000 
($150,000). How impressive are the columns, the 
arches, the lights and shadows, the lamps, the tombs 
and the rich carvings of the choir! The service is 
not yet ended; and tones from one of the best or- 
gans in England flood the whole cathedral with 
music. The choir-boys are singing an anthem; and, 
owing to a peculiar echo, their clear bird-like voices 
seem to float downward from the dome. 

St. Paul's ranks next to Westminster Abbey with 
regard to its tombs and monuments to honored dead. 

In the Crypt are the graves of Sir Christopher 
Wren, Sir Joshua Eeynolds, J. M. W. Turner, Ben- 
jamin West (the American painter), Lawrence, 
Opie, Sir Edward Landseer, Lord Leighton, Sir 
John Millais, George Cruikshank, and the two great 
heroes, Nelson and Wellington. The sarcophagus of 
the former is said to have been made for Henry 
VIII. at Cardinal Wolsey's expense. The Duke of 
Wellington's tomb is in the east crypt, a huge block 
of porphyry on a granite base. His monument is 
in a chapel in the north transept. 

In the crypt are also preserved the four monu- 
ments from Old St. Paul's that were spared by the 
fire: to Sir Christopher Hatton, Queen Elizabeth's 

55 



A Guide to Cities 

Lord Chancellor; Sir Nicholas Bacon; Dean Colet, 
founder of St. Paul's School; and Dr. Donne, the 
poet, who was dean of St. Paul's from 1621 to 1631. 

There are also many statues and monuments, in- 
cluding those to Howard the philanthropist, Sir 
Joshua Reynolds, Lord Cornwallis, Sir Astley Coop- 
er, Admiral Napier, General Gordon, the Crimean 
Memorial ; and tablets to heroes of the Boer War. 

We pass on to the south aisle containing the stair- 
way that leads to the upper parts of the church. We 
have to climb more than a hundred steps before we 
reach the Library, a splendid room with a note- 
worthy inlaid floor of oak, and marvellously carved 
brackets supporting the gallery, said to be the work 
of Grinling Gibbons, or one of his pupils. Wren's 
original model for St. Paul's is here; and also his 
portrait. A flight of steps from the Library leads 
to the Whispering Gallery around the dome. This 
takes its name from its peculiar acoustics. 

We can see the decorations on the dome and look 
down upon the small figures below, at their devo- 
tions, or walking about admiring the Cathedral. 
From this point, we ascend 118 more steps, some of 
which are very steep, and wind up the wall in odd 
and unexpected nooks and corners, to the Stone Gal- 
lery. If you like, you can ascend to the outer Gold- 
en Gallery at the summit of the dome, and from that 
steep ladders will take you up to the lantern, ball 
and cross, altogether 616 steps from the pavement of 
the church ! 

The best view of the city, however, is to be had 
56 



The City of London 

from the Stone Gallery. We can see as far as Har- 
row, twelve miles away on the northwest; the Alex- 
andra Palace on the north; Richmond Hill near the 
Thames, twelve miles on the southwest; and the 
Crystal Palace, Shooter's Hill and Greenwich Ob- 
servatory Hill on the southeast, in Kent. What a 
great mass of roofs from which the smoke curls 
gracefully into the air and over which the golden, 
blue and rose-colored mists come and go, and 
through which the steeples appear and disappear ! 
And what a forest of steeples there is ! 

What strikes us most as we look at the great pano- 
rama below us is the great number of steeples. 
Most of these were erected after the Great Fire, and 
designed by Sir Christopher Wren. 

The most famous is St. Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside, 
the famous old Bow Church. You can always re- 
member its tall steeple (225 feet high) with the 
dragon ten feet long for a weather vane. Stow tells 
us that " for divers accidents happening hath been 
more famous than any other parish church of the 
whole city or suburbs." 

Bow Bells have long been famous in London his- 
tory and legend. They used to ring the Curfew at 
sunset for the gates to be shut. They play an im- 
portant part in the story of Dick Whittington, who 
was Lord Mayor of London four times. After a long 
silence they were rehung in 1905. 

St. Paul's also has its bells. In the Campanile 
Tower there is a peal of twelve; and in the south- 
west tower hangs " Great Paul," the largest bell in 

57 



A Guide to Cities 

England, thirty feet in circumference, ten inches 
thick in metal, and weighing sixteen tons. 

The bells of St. Giles's, Cripple'gate, whose chimes 
faintly reach us as we stand here, used to toll day 
and night during the Great Plague. St. Giles's es- 
caped the Great Fire. It was built in 1100, and re- 
built in 1545. In St. Giles's Oliver Cromwell was 
married; and in it John Milton is buried. 

Cheapside (from Chepe, meaning market) ex- 
tends from Newgate Street to the Poultry, and is 
famous for its shops. Cheapside Cross, one of the 
nine crosses erected to Queen Eleanor (see page 49) 
stood at the corner of Wood Street until demolished 
by Parliament in 1643. Wood Street is now a great 
district for wholesale millinery. The neighboring 
Friday Street commemorates a Friday fish market. 
Bread Street was the birthplace of John Milton. Be- 
tween Friday and Bread Streets, on the south side 
of Cheapside, stood the " Mermaid Tavern," where 
Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Beaumont and other wits 
and poets congregated. King Street leads out of 
Cheapside to the Guildhall. Above the porch, where 
the pigeons are circling, and nesting, we see the 
arms of the City. 

All that remains of the old Guildhall, built in the 
reign of Henry IV. (1411) are the old walls, and the 
Crypt; for it was burned in the Great Fire. The 
fine Gothic roof was built, and the present front 
erected, in 1865-68. The great Hall with its open 
timber roof is very handsome. It is 153 feet long, 48 
feet broad and 55 feet high, with stained-glass win- 

58 



The City of London 

dows at each end. This Hall is used for municipal 
meetings, the election of the Lord Mayor and mem- 
bers of Parliament, and great civic entertainments; 
and here, every ninth of ^November, the new Lord 
Mayor gives a great banquet, which is generally at- 
tended by a thousand guests. On such occasions, the 
Hall is made magnificent with its hangings of ancient 
tapestry and its splendid gold service. 

Many historical events have taken place in the 
Guildhall. Here Richard III. endeavored to make 
the citizens accept him as King; here Anne Askew, 
subsequently burnt at Smithfield, was tried for her- 
esy ; here the Earl of Surrey was tried for high trea- 
son ; and here Lady Jane Grey and her husband were 
also tried. The old Crypt, divided by three aisles 
and clusters of columns, dates from 1417. The Al- 
derman's Court, a beautiful room with rich carvings 
and allegorical paintings, was rebuilt by Wren after 
the Great Fire. In the Library there is a valuable 
collection of 70,000 books, plays and pamphlets re- 
lating to the history of London; and the City Mu- 
seum, in a vaulted chamber below, contains London 
relics of all kinds, including Roman antiquities and 
old shop and tavern signs. 

The lower end of Cheapside, known as the Poul- 
try, opens into a broad space where seven other 
streets converge. There are Prince's Street, Thread- 
needle Street, Cornhill, Lombard Street, King Wil- 
liam Street, Walbrook and Queen Victoria Street. 
The Bank of England is on the left ; the Royal Ex- 
change in front; and the Mansion House on the 

59 



A Guide to Cities 

right. On this spot the multitude of vehicles and 
pedestrians moving in all directions affords a vivid 
impression of the business of the City. Between this 
and Bishopsgate and the Tower to the east are situ- 
ated the great banks and insurance offices and whole- 
sale houses. In no other part of the City is it so 
busy during the day and so still and desolate at 
night. 

On the point between Cornhill and Threadneedle 
Street stands the Royal Exchange with the eques- 
trian statue of Wellington in front. In the upper 
floor are Lloyd's Subscription Rooms, where all the 
shipping is classified and insured. 

The Mansion House, which is the residence of the 
Lord Mayor, dates from 1739. In this building the 
Lord Mayor, or one of the Aldermen, sits daily hold- 
ing the City Police Court ; and here the Lord Mayor 
and Lady Mayoress entertain in magnificent style. 
The principal part of the building is called Egyp- 
tian Hall. 

Nearly opposite the Mansion House is the Bank 
of England, covering three acres of ground. Thread- 
needle Street, which gives the bank its popular name, 
the " Old Lady of Threadneedle Street," takes us 
into Bishopsgate Street where are a famous old 
church, St. Helen's, and the palace of Richard III. 
—Crosby Hall. 

St. Helen's is the survival of the Priory of the 
Nuns of St. Helen's founded in 1216. The double 
grille of stone near Gresham's tomb is called the 
" Nun's Grate " ; and in the " Nun's Aisle " every 

60 



The City of London 

Sunday morning " good sweet wheaten bread " 
awaits the poor on a clean white cloth, bequeathed 
by a donor of the seventeenth century, who lies in 
this church! Over the tomb of Sir Thomas Gresh- 
am, founder of the Royal Exchange, hangs his hel- 
met, carried at his funeral on December 15, 1579. 
On account of its many tombs and monuments, St. 
Helen's is sometimes called the " Westminster Abbey 
of the City." It is interesting, too, for its splendid 
brasses, particularly in the Chapel of the Virgin, and 
its carved choir stalls, which are the original seats 
of the nuns. Shakespeare was a parishioner in 1598, 
which explains why a stained-glass window was 
erected to his memory in 1884. 

Among the tombs is that of Sir John Crosby 
(1475), and his wife, Anneys, he wearing an Alder- 
man's mantle over his armor and the badge of the 
House of York around his neck, — a collar of suns 
and roses. In 1461 he built Crosby Hall — " a house 
of stone and timber," says Stow, " very large and 
beautiful, and the highest that time in London," on 
land that he leased from the Prioress of St. Helen's. 

Crosby Hall is one of the few houses of the fif- 
teenth century left standing. The Banqueting Hall 
has a splendid timber roof and is a stately room. 
The great window is filled with the arms in stained 
glass of the various owners ; and there is a very beau- 
tiful window in the so-called Throne Room. 

Here Richard, Duke of Gloucester, lived and here 
he held his court. Shakespeare, who knew Crosby 
Hall very well, since he lived in St. Helen's Parish, 

61 



A Guide to Cities 

makes it the scene in which Lady Anne awaits Rich- 
ard's return from the funeral of Henry VL , in his 
play of " Richard III." Sir Thomas More lived here 
for several years, and probably wrote here his " Life 
of Richard III." After his execution, his son-in-law, 
William Roper, leased it. Sir Philip Sidney's sis- 
ter, the Countess of Pembroke, also lived here. In 
1672, Crosby Hall became a Presbyterian Meeting 
house; and, in 1831, a warehouse. Of late years it 
has been restored, and converted into a restaurant. 

Bishopsgate Street ends at Cornhill, its continua- 
tion to London Bridge being called Gracechurch 
Street. Cornhill also ends at this point, Leadenhall 
Street being the name that continues eastwards to 
Aldgate. The latter was the gate in the old City wall 
midway between the Tower and Bishopsgate. Here 
lies the notorious Whitechapel, the beginning of the 
enormous East London, which has swallowed up all 
the old villages, Bethnal Green, Old Ford, Bow, 
Hackney, Stratford, etc., and all the land between 
the Thames and Epping Forest, which is the general 
playground of the working-classes. 



THE CITY OF ANTWERP 
THE CITY OF RUBENS 

ANTWERP is one of the most important cities 
of Northern Europe. It is a great commer- 
cial port ; a great fortress ; and a great centre of in- 
dustry; as well as a great storehouse of Mediaeval 
and Renaissance Art and Architecture. 

Antwerp was a morass on the edge of a forest full 
of game when it was first settled by a Germanic tribe. 
Its first industry was salting and smoking fish, which 
it bartered in English ports for wool, which was 
woven into cloth that was soon in demand through- 
out Northern Europe. The town progressed with 
astonishing rapidity, as is noted by contemporary 
writers. In 837, Eulda calls Antwerp a great city ; 
Heda says it is an old and celebrated city ; and, at 
the end of the eleventh century, Sigisbert of Gem- 
bloux proclaims it a noble metropolis. At this period 
its present name first appears. 

During the seventh century, the people were con-' 
verted to Christianity by St. Amand. In the ninth 
century, the place was overrun by the Normans, who 
fortified it, and made it the headquarters of a do- 
minion bounded by Ghent, Courtrai, Louvain and 
Antwerp. They built the Borgt, the ruins of which 

63 



A Guide to Cities 

are still visible, in 885 ; but abandoned it when Hol- 
lo made peace with Charles the Simple, King of 
France. 

Antwerp flourished again under various Counts of 
the Empire, the most famous of whom was Godfrey 
de Bouillon, leader of the First Crusade, and first 
King of Jerusalem. About this time Tankelm, a 
predecessor of Wycliff and Luther, preached reform 
doctrines and gained a great following in Antwerp. 
He was finally assassinated in a boat in the middle 
of the Scheldt. His heresy is a favorite subject for 
pictures by Flemish artists. 

Trade and municipal privileges were constantly 
extended by the Dukes of Brabant during the thir- 
teenth and fourteenth centuries. When Edward III. 
of England resided there with his court in 1340, its 
commerce was very important, and he made it his 
principal wool mart. 

When the Brabant Dukes became extinct, the 
province fell to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. 
It was then so flourishing that the historian De Corn- 
mines designated it " The Garden of the Land of 
Promise." 

The decline of Bruges, by the shoaling of its river, 
benefited Antwerp. By 1515, the principal traders 
had all emigrated thither, — first the Portuguese 
Jews, then the Hanseatic firms, and lastly the Eng- 
lish. In the day of her highest prosperity, during 
the reign of Charles V., Antwerp's commercial pros- 
perity was based on banking and manufacture. 

The day of Keformation and Persecution had now 
64 



The City of Antwerp 

arrived. In the public squares of the city there were 
daily scenes of horror on the scaffold and at the 
stake. Finally, the nobles banded together; and the 
" Compromise " gave the signal for resistance, of 
which the preachers took advantage to excite the rab- 
ble. The result was that the Cathedral and churches 
were pillaged. 

On August 18, 1566, there was the annual pro- 
cession through the city of the great image of the 
Virgin, gorgeously arrayed, and accompanied by 
civil, military and ecclesiastical pomp and music. As 
the procession passed, disturbances arose in the 
streets, fomented by fanatical sectaries. When the 
image reached the Cathedral and was placed behind 
the grille for safety, it was followed by a howling 
mob that constantly increased in numbers and tur- 
bulence. The spirit of riot soon led to the work of 
destruction. The abolition of all imagery and carv- 
ing as works of idolatry was urged. Hammers, 
axes and crow-bars were procured, the monuments 
were defaced, statues overthrown, painted windows 
smashed, pictures mutilated and torn to tatters, and 
delicate carvings demolished. The beautiful handi- 
work of the pious devotion of centuries was destroyed 
in a few hours of mob violence. The rage of icon- 
oclasm immediately spread, and the other churches 
in Antwerp and neighboring cities were sacked by 
bands of fanatical puritans. Strange to say, how- 
ever, there was no looting. In none of the works 
of desecration was there recorded a single act of per- 
sonal violence, or appropriation of the treasures scat- 

65 



A Guide to Cities 

tered by the rabble. The scarcity of Mediaeval re- 
mains in Belgian churches is to be attributed to this 
St. Bartholomew massacre of Christian art. 

The administration of the cruel Duke of Alva add- 
ed to Antwerp's woe; but worse was to follow. In 
1576, the city was sacked by the Spanish soldiery, 
under secret orders, it is said, of Philip II. This 
disaster, called the " Spanish Fury " cost seven thou- 
sand lives, and ruined the city for the time. The 
pillage lasted for eight days ; and the loss of property 
was estimated at what would amount to more than 
two hundred million dollars to-day. The result was 
that the surviving merchants and bankers decided to 
emigrate. 

The Spanish Fury is best described in some vivid 
passages from Mr. Motley's work on the Dutch Re- 
publics : 

" Cowardice on the part of the Walloon defenders 
enabled the Spaniards, who had vowed l to dine in 
Paradise or sup in Antwerp/ to pass the barriers and 
force their way with little opposition through the 
streets crying c St. James, Spain, blood, flesh, fire, 
sack ! ' 

" In front of the graceful Exchange, where, in 
peaceful hours, Hve thousand merchants met daily 
to arrange the commercial affairs of Christendom, 
there was a determined rally, a savage slaughter. 
The citizens and faithful Germans, in this broader 
space, made a stand against their pursuers. The tes- 
selated marble pavement, the graceful cloister-like 
arcades ran red with blood. The ill-armed burghers 

66 



The City of Antwerp 

faced their enemies clad in complete panoply, but 
they could only die for their homes. The massacre 
at this point was enormous, the resistance at last 
overcome. 

" Meantime, while the short November day was 
fast declining, the combat still raged in the heart of 
the city. Various currents of conflict had at last 
mingled in the Grand' Place. Around this irregular, 
not very spacious square, stood the gorgeous Hotel de 
Yille, and the tall, many storied, fantastically ga- 
bled, richly-decorated palaces of the guilds. Here a 
long struggle took place. It was terminated for a 
time by the cavalry who charged decisively into the 
melee. The masses were broken, but multitudes of 
armed men found refuge in the buildings, and every 
house became a fortress. It was difficult to carry 
the houses by storm, but they were soon set on fire. 
In a brief interval, the City-hall and other edifices 
on the square were in flames. The conflagration 
spread with rapidity, house after house, street after 
street taking fire. Nearly a thousand buildings, in 
the most splendid and wealthy quarter of the city, 
were soon in a blaze, and multitudes of human be- 
ings were burned with them. The many tortuous 
streets which led down to the quays were all one vast 
conflagration. On the other side, the magnificent 
cathedral, separated from the Grand' Place by a 
single row of buildings, was lighted up but not at- 
tacked by the flames. The tall spire cast its gigantic 
shadow across the last desperate conflict. In the 
Street called Canal au Sucre there was a fierce strug- 

67 



A Guide to Cities 

gle, a horrible massacre. The heroic margrave of 
the city fought with the energy of hatred and de- 
spair. The burgomaster lay dead at his feet; sena- 
tors, soldiers, citizens, fell fast around him, and he 
sank at last upon a heap of slain. With him, effec- 
tual resistance ended. The remaining combatants 
were butchered, or were slowly forced downward to 
perish in the Scheldt. Women, children, old men 
were killed in countless numbers. Never was there 
a more monstrous massacre, even in the blood-stained 
history of the Netherlands. It was estimated that 
in this and the two following days, not less than eight 
thousand human beings were massacred. The Span- 
iards seemed to cast off even the vizard of humanity. 
Hell seemed emptied of its fiends. Night fell upon 
the scene before the soldiers were masters of the city ; 
but worse horrors began after the contest was ended. 
This army of brigands had come thither with a defi- 
nite practical purpose ; it was avarice, greediness for 
gold. They had conquered their India at last; its 
golden mines lay all before them, and every sword 
should open a shaft. For gold, infants were dashed 
out of existence in their mothers' arms ; parents were 
tortured in their children's presence; brides were 
scourged to death before their husbands' eyes. Wher- 
ever treasure was suspected, every expedient which 
ingenuity, sharpened by greediness, could suggest, 
was employed to extort it from its possessors. The 
fire had devoured a vast amount of property; there 
was, however, much left. The strong boxes of the 
merchants, the gold, silver, and precious jewelry, the 

68 



The City of Antwerp 

velvets, satins, brocades, laces and similar portable 
plunder were rapidly appropriated. In private 
bouses it was more difficult. The cash, plate, and 
other valuables of individuals were not so easily dis- 
covered. Torture was, therefore, at once employed 
to discover the hidden treasures. After all had been 
given, if the sum seemed too little, the proprietors 
were brutally punished for their poverty, or their 
supposed dissimulation. 

" On the morning of November 5th Antwerp 
presented a ghastly sight. The more splendid por- 
tion of the city had been consumed ; at least five hun- 
dred palaces, mostly of marble or hammered stone, 
being a smouldering mass of destruction. The dead 
bodies were on every side. Two days longer the 
havoc lasted in the city. Of all the crimes which men 
can commit, hardly one was omitted. Eight thou- 
sand persons were undoubtedly put to death. Mar- 
vellously few Spaniards were slain. Two hundred 
killed is the largest number stated." 

Antwerp's sufferings were not yet at an end. In 
order to deliver the provinces from Spanish tyranny, 
William the Silent persuaded the States of Brabant 
to offer the sovereignty to the Duke of Alengon, 
brother of Henry III. of France. The offer was ac- 
cepted ; the Duke arrived with an army, but he want- 
ed to dispense with the tutelage of the States and 
reign as absolute master. The first step was to seize 
Antwerp by force. Therefore, on January 16, 1583, 
he made a pretence of reviewing his troops out- 
side the Borgerhout gate. He went out, and immedi- 



A Guide to Cities 

ately returned at the head of his troops; and mas- 
sacred the city guard, and all who offered any re- 
sistance. The citizens though momentarily surprised, 
quickly recovered and assumed the offensive. Catho- 
lics and Protestants alike comhined against the 
treacherous enemy, and soon drove the French out of 
the city, leaving four thousand dead behind, and 
with a loss to themselves of only eighty. 

Farnese, Duke of Parma, came to re-establish the 
Spanish authority. Antwerp was the last refuge of 
the defeated confederates, and was blockaded for a 
year. Finally (1585), it capitulated on honorable 
conditions. In 1589, the population had fallen to 
55,000, a loss of 75,000 in about a century. 

With commerce destroyed and energies exhausted, 
Antwerp now entered upon two centuries of torpor, 
but the once flourishing metropolis shone gloriously 
in the Arts, under the encouragement of Albert and 
Isabella. Rubens, whose memory haunts every 
church and square, conferred a more glorious renown 
upon his adopted city than she had ever yet attained. 
Many great masters made his School famous. 

The Dutch, who had long been jealous of the com- 
mercial supremacy of Antwerp, dreaded a renewal of 
her activities ; and at the close of the Thirty Years' 
War (1648) they achieved their aim by the Peace 
of Minister, which consummated the ruin of the com- 
merce of Antwerp by closing the Scheldt to naviga- 
tion, thus diverting shipping to Rotterdam and Am- 
sterdam. 

Antwerp was wakened from her lethargy by the 
Y0 



The City of Antwerp 

French Revolution, being captured by Labourdon- 
naye in 1792, and again by Pichegru in 1794. 

Under the Empire, it became the capital of the 
Department of the Two Netherlands; and then re- 
covered part of its former splendor. Napoleon had 
great works constructed there that were to make it 
one of the great dockyards of the Empire. In 1815 
Antwerp was constituted a part of the Kingdom of 
the Netherlands. A statue of General Carnot evinces 
the gratitude of the inhabitants of Borgerhout for 
having spared their suburb from demolition in the 
interest of military defence. 

The Revolution of 1830 brought separation from 
Holland. Leopold, first King of the Belgians, made 
his inaugural entry on July 28, 1831. The next 
year, the Dutch, under General Chasse, who had 
shut themselves up in the citadel, were besieged by a 
French army under Marshal Gerard and forced to 
capitulate. Since then, Antwerp has steadily in- 
creased in size and prosperity. 

The best way to enter Antwerp is by water. It is 
a pleasant experience to make the winding journey 
up the Scheldt between the low-lying meadows for a 
couple of hours till the Cathedral spire comes in 
sight. " It has a strange charm, that snowy needle, 
for no town is visible ; the plains and the spire have 
it all to themselves. It grows and grows, and at last 
we have a glimpse of a town at the corner, as it were ; 
another turn brings us suddenly into the fine old 
port. Presently we are gliding past Napoleon's 
Docks and the jetties, alas! now made hideous by 

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A Guide to Cities 

modern commercial improvements ! Not so many 
years since, there was the old Flemish wharf, lined 
with its old green trees, behind which rose a long row 
of antique houses, with their red-tiled roofs, while 
over all beetled the exquisite Cathedral spire, at 
which the passengers gazed with astonishment and 
pleasure. Now this pleasing vision has been ruth- 
lessly swept away. An interminable row of hideous 
iron sheds has been interposed, a new wharf has been 
thrown far out into the river, the quaint old houses 
and the trees have been levelled, and the old pictur- 
esque charm has been abolished." Thus writes an 
appreciative traveller. 

As a matter of fact, Antwerp has had to sacrifice 
the picturesqueness of her river front to her commer- 
cial prosperity. The Scheldt is nearly fifty feet deep 
there; and the largest ships can dock. 

It is one of the largest ports in Europe, and con- 
stantly growing. In 1899, 5,613 ships entered; and 
the imports were valued at $326,000,000 ; the ex- 
ports at $160,000,000. The total population was 
338,800. 

The quays now extend along the river front for 
nearly three miles. Behind them are fine roomy 
warehouses fitted with all modern appliances; and 
over these is a fine promenade much frequented by 
the citizens for the view it affords of the shipping 
and the river. Behind all this on the north and south 
of the city are the docks, consisting of thirteen large 
basins of different sizes. 

Antwerp has fifteen gates and about nine hundred 
72 



The City of Antwerp 

streets and public squares. All the gates are modern, 
except the Gate of the Scheldt, which was built in 
1624, in honor of Philip IV. Eubens drew the 
plans, and Artus Quellin did the carving. The 
Latin inscription is prophetic of the continued great- 
ness of the city. It reads : " The Scheldt delights in 
rolling its obedient waves for him who rules over 
the Tagus, the Ganges, the Rhine and the Indus. 
Under thy auspices, great Philip, it will bear the 
same vessels it formerly bore under the Emperor, 
thy grandfather." 

At Antwerp, the channel of the Scheldt has an av- 
erage breadth of 1,000 feet, varying from 900 to 
2,000 feet, and a mean depth of five fathoms at low 
tide. This, of course, enables all but the very largest 
ships to dock. The wharves on the left bank that 
made Antwerp so prosperous in olden times no long- 
er exist. None of the existing docks dates earlier 
than the days of Napoleon; and nearly all the ware- 
houses over them are modern. The Maison Han- 
seatique, which was built by the Hanseatic League 
in 1564, was the last. It was destroyed by fire in 
1893. 

The dock system is one of the most complete and 
extensive in the world. It covers an area of eight 
hundred acres. The oldest docks are the Grand and 
Petit Bassin, constructed by Napoleon for a great 
naval dockyard. The modern docks are entered by 
a broad canal running from the river to the Bassin 
du Kattendyh, connecting with the Bassin Mexico, 
Bassin au Bois and Bassin de Batelage Nord. A 

73 



A Guide to Cities 

little farther west are the African and American 
basins. 

The busy wharves afford many interesting types 
of humanity, for Antwerp is a cosmopolitan port. 
Sailors from all parts of the world, including Lascars 
and Chinese, are visible. Dock porters in distinctive 
blouses, with great cloths over their heads and shoul- 
ders, are carrying big bales of goods, sometimes 
weighing more than 400 pounds. 

We will now land at the Steen Dock and take a 
stroll eastwards through the old town, where the 
principal ancient buildings are found. This pictur- 
esque neighborhood still retains some flavor of a Me- 
diaeval town. We immediately come face to face 
with a monument of human cruelty, the very aspect 
of which gives rise to a vague terror. It is the Steen, 
or Borgt, the oldest building in the city. It has been 
partially restored; and fragmentary as it is, it still 
bears the traces of a terrible epoch in which so many 
martyrs suffered torments of which we can scarcely 
form any idea to-day. 

In all probability, it was rebuilt in 885 by the 
Normans on the site originally fortified in the 
eighth century. Later, it was repaired by Louis 
de Male. The work was well done, as is evident from 
the remaining masonry, the stones of which are 
joined with an extremely hard cement. Above the 
door is a carved figure with uplifted arms of a Scan- 
dinavian divinity. The upper part of the edifice 
dates from 1520, when the building was reconstruct- 
ed and transformed into a State prison. 

V4 



The City of Antwerp 

There are several chambers with vaulted and 
smoothed masonry, water-tight and almost air-tight 
at need. The Torture-Chamber is the largest. In 
the middle of the night the prisoner would be sud- 
denly awakened and taken to that terrible place. 
There he was solidly fixed against the wall by the 
iron clamps still there, by the neck, arms and legs, 
and the torture began. And what an infernal vari- 
ety of torment was provided ! Steel, fire, water, all 
afforded means of torture. One chamber served as a 
cistern, with water up to a man's lips, constantly 
flowing. A pump handle was within reach : he could 
keep from drowning as long as his strength held out. 

A man once brought into this prison might as well 
be regarded as dead. He was only a shadow of his 
former self, even if acquitted after the examination, 
under torture. One Antwerp merchant named Van 
Brenseghem, unjustly put to the torture, was after- 
wards escorted home in pomp with white wax flam- 
beaux. The magistracy asked what amends could be 
made for the injustice he had suffered. He replied 
that he was rich, and needed no money, but that he 
had been deprived of repose and health, two things 
that could not be restored; but he requested that the 
instrument of his torture might be attached in per- 
petuity to his cell as a moral punishment for those 
who had so unjustly condemned him. 

The cells for the women have no communicating 
passages with those for the men; and there are not 
such ferocious implements for the indulgence of 
" Man's inhumanity to man." No effusion of blood 

75 



A Guide to Cities 

was resorted to; only drowning, suffocation and star- 
vation. 

The instruments of torture were still intact in 
1794, when they were burned or destroyed during the 
French invasion. Those now exhibited were collect- 
ed from other prisons. The collection of old furni- 
ture here strikes a lighter note — one of elegance and 
comfort and luxury in the olden days. Moreover, 
there is a collection of local antiquities here, consist- 
ing of relics of the old city and neighborhood turned 
up by pick and spade during excavations for improve- 
ments. These consist of Roman and Mediaeval curi- 
osities, coins, weapons, jeAvelry, carvings in stone, 
wood and ivory. There are specimens of glassware 
made here after Venetian patterns, porcelain, cos- 
tumes of other days, and engravings and other old 
prints of the city. A morning spent in the Steen will 
be richly repaid with vivid impressions of the life, 
culture and past prosperity of this busy port. Two 
objects of special interest are the head of the giant 
Antigonous, which has been an important feature in 
every civic procession since the sixteenth century; 
and the head of the giantess, which is not so old by 
a couple of centuries. 

Antigonous is a mythical personage who is hon- 
ored by the native Antwerper as Gog and Magog are 
by the Cockney in London. The citizens used to de- 
rive the very name Antwerp from Hand, hand ; wer- 
pen, to throw. This was because Antigonous was 
said to have demanded heavy tribute from the cap- 
tain of every vessel that passed his castle, under pen- 

76 



The City of Antwerp 

alty of having his right hand cut off and thrown into 
the Scheldt. Finally, a hero, called Salvius Brabo, 
challenged and overcame the tyrant ; and treated him 
as he treated his victims. In the Grand' Place, 
there is a modern bronze fountain surmounted by a 
statue of Salvius, in commemoration of his noble 
deed. A more famous old well, surmounted by a fig- 
ure of Salvius holding a severed hand, is in the 
MarcM aux Gants opposite the entrance of the Ca- 
thedral tower. It is open, wrought ironwork of vine 
trellis design; and of late fifteenth century work- 
manship. It is generally attributed to Quentin Mas- 
sys, who died in 1530. He was originally a black- 
smith, according to his epitaph, which is now in the 
museum; but, for love of a painter's daughter, he 
gave up his craft, and himself became a famous 
painter — more famous than his master. He was the 
founder of the Antwerp School of Painting, his mas- 
terpiece, the " Entombment," and other pictures with 
devout figures full of beauty and expression, may be 
studied in the museum. 

The colossal figure of Antigonous was the work 
of the city architect, Peter Coeck of Alost. It first 
appeared at the solemn entry of Charles V. and his 
son Philip II. in 1549. The giant is seated and cos- 
tumed as a Roman general. It is nine feet high; 
and an internal mechanism allows it to roll its eyes 
savagely at the spectators. In the eighteenth cen- 
tury, a companion female figure was provided by the 
municipality. It was designed by the sculptor 
Herryns. She is costumed like an antique Minerva ; 

77 



A Guide to Cities 

and she used to bow graciously to the admiring mul- 
titude ; but lately, it is said, she has developed a stiff 
neck. Other cars in the processions represent a whale 
straddled by a Cupid; dolphins and Cupids; boats; 
and a Seventeenth Century Spanish galley, with a 
full crew at work. 

The Grande Kermesse is held annually in mid- 
August and lasts for several days. Not so long ago, 
each parish in the city had its own Kermesse; but 
now they are all merged in the great communal fes- 
tival. This would not be complete without the Om- 
meganck, which is common to every large Flemish 
town. This is a historical cavalcade and procession 
of allegorical cars illustrating the legendary lore of 
the district. It is very popular with the Flemings, 
and attracts throngs of foreigners also, for the gaieties 
of Antwerp are widely celebrated. 

The triumphal car now used in processions con- 
forms closely to the original design by Rubens that 
hangs in the picture gallery; where are also two 
sketches of triumphal arches erected in 1635, on the 
entry into Antwerp of Ferdinand, Archduke of 
Austria. 

By the way of the quaint old Rue des Orfevres, we 
next reach the Hotel de Ville, a beautiful building 
on the Grand' Place, built after the designs of C. de 
Vriendt in 1561-65. It suffered terribly, as we have 
seen, during the " Spanish Fury." In 1581, how- 
ever, the exterior was restored as we see it to-day. 
The interior received a further restoration about 
twenty years ago. The rooms and staircases are rich- 

78 



The City of Antwerp 

ly embellished with paintings and carvings, old and 
new. 

In the Salle des Mariages, there is one of those im- 
mense chimney-pieces which sculptors of old delight- 
ed to adorn with capricious statuettes, ingenious 
medallions and elegant bas-reliefs. The principal 
subject is the " Marriage of Cana," appropriately 
enough for a hall in which civil marriages are cele- 
brated. There are three smaller panels in which the 
carver has represented the " Crucifixion/' the " Eais- 
ing of the Brazen Serpent/' and " Abraham's Sac- 
rifice." The ornaments of the rest of the room are in 
harmony with this charming work. 

Another fine carved chimney-piece, by the original 
architect, in the ante-room of the Council Chambers, 
has for subject the " Judgment of Solomon." 

Before proceeding to the Cathedral, we turn aside 
slightly to the north, to look at another imposing 
building — the Boucherie, or old Meat Market. This 
is a big handsome edifice dating from 1501. It is 
built of red brick and white stone ; and has four 
six-sided turrets. It is a fine example of late Gothic 
work. 

The Grand' Place is full of old memories, and is 
bordered by several tall houses belonging to the an- 
cient guilds, built during the sixteenth and seven- 
teenth centuries. The most interesting are those 
of the Archers, the Carpenters, the Clothiers and the 
Coopers. In one of the houses on this square 
(No. 4) the artist, Van Dyck, was born in 1599. 
From the Grand' Place we gain a fine view of the 

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A Guide to Cities 

mighty Cathedral to which we next proceed. Pass- 
ing through the Marche aux Gants, we reach the 
tower door, pausing on the way to admire a famous 
old well of the fifteenth century said to have been 
made by Quentin Massys. 

Like several other great cathedrals, Notre Dame 
has only one spire ; lack of money and enterprise 
having prevented the completion of the south-western 
tower, which is carried to only one-third of the height 
designed originally; and so it sits like a great prize 
rabbit with only one long ear erect. Long it is ; but 
if we make the weary climb of 616 steps to the top 
(402 feet up) we shall be well repaid by a beauti- 
ful view of the city and surrounding country. On a 
clear day, by the aid of glasses, we can trace the 
windings of the Scheldt to its mouth, and pick out 
many famous distant towers. Directly across the 
river is the Vlaamisch Hoofd (Flemish Head), a 
great fort on an eminence, from which also a fine 
view of the city may be obtained. At our feet lies 
the old city with its circling ramparts, now trans- 
formed into a ring of broad and beautiful boulevards 
called the Avenues. Within this circuit are most of 
the old buildings that we shall examine later. Be- 
yond the Avenues, lie the suburbs; and then, encir- 
cling all, comes the line of fortifications that renders 
Antwerp one of the strongest fortresses in Europe. 

The river is crowded with shipping; and the smil- 
ing meadows beyond are dotted with farms and vil- 
lages. Across the flat lands they can hear the bells 
that are pealing beside us — ninety-nine in all, — bells 

80 



The City of Antwerp 

that chime, and play hymn-tunes, and operatic and 
popular airs at different hours in the day ; for an 
ingenious mechanism allows the execution of quite 
complicated musical compositions. 

Their joyous, warning and solemn tones have been 
familiar to many generations. The biggest weighs 
eight tons, and was cast only fifteen years after Am- 
erica was discovered. When it was baptized Carolus 
and consecrated to the Glory of God, the great Em- 
peror Charles V. stood godfather to it. It must be 
remembered that in the Middle Ages, bells were cast 
with religious ceremonies ; and, when hung, were bap- 
tized with the names of their sponsors, sprinkled 
with holy water, anointed, and covered with the 
white chrisom, like infants. They were engraved 
with pious texts, or with inscriptions recording their 
virtues. Their music was supposed to have as varied 
efficacy as the lute of Orpheus, the most common in- 
scription stating : " I bewail funerals, break light- 
nings, call to worship, dissipate tempests," etc. 

The church tower was often the municipal watch- 
tower; and, in turbulent times, the beacon-tower, 
whose blaze called the dwellers in the neighborhood 
within the walls for safety and defence against at- 
tack. The individual voices of the bells were known ; 
and the citizens could tell whether a storm was ap- 
proaching, or a fire had broken out, or the town 
guard was to assemble for pressing duty. Thus the 
most ancient bell here, cast in the Place Verte below, 
by Gerard de Liege in 1310, proclaims its duties by 
its name, — the Orrida (Dreadful) — it was the muni- 

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A Guide to Cities 

cipal tocsin, the herald of calamity, that called the 
town guard to rally. The Marie has other functions : 
She was first rung at the solemn entry of Charles 
the Bold into his good city in 1467. 

The great clock dates from 1457: the dial plate 
was restored in 1869. 

Before going down, we must examine the wonder- 
ful stone carving of the exterior of the tower, which 
Charles V. said ought to be put in a cabinet, and 
only exhibited on special occasions. Napoleon lik- 
ened it to the beautiful lacework of Mechlin. It is 
indeed a marvel of lightness and delicacy. 

It is said that this enormous stone needle sways 
noticeably under the blast of the tempests that are 
so frequent around the North Sea at the equinoxes; 
and that this movement is a proof of its solidity. 
From the top gallery, the view embraces a vast 
stretch of country, including Northern Brabant, the 
entire course of the Scheldt down to the sea, the end- 
less polders of the Flemish coast, and the Campine 
plains. The view is more limited in the direction of 
Brussels. The landscape is more broken, more cut 
up into enclosures, and dotted with villages; and 
seems to rise above that uniform level which in all 
other directions sweeps away till it is confounded 
with the sea. 

On entering the Cathedral, the visitor is impressed 
by its noble dimensions. For those who take in- 
terest in figures, the following may be given. The 
floor space measures seventy thousand square feet, 
being exceeded by only three other cathedrals in Eu- 

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A 

W 
H 

O 



The City of Antwerp 

rope : St. Peter's, Rome ; St. Paul's, London, and the 
Duomo, Milan. It is 384 feet long and 130 feet 
high. The transept measures 212 feet across; and 
the nave, 171 feet. The effect produced by its six 
columned aisles is very striking; there are 125 pil- 
lars that produce an air of severity by their lack of 
capitals. It was begun in 1352, when Gothic archi- 
tecture was still in full vigor; but it progressed 
slowly, and took more than two centuries and a half 
to reach completion in its present condition. Nearly 
every European cathedral has been partially or wholly 
destroyed by fire, or earthquake, during its existence, 
and has had its embellishments defaced and smashed 
by fanatical image-breakers. Antwerp Cathedral has 
not escaped these calamities. In 1533, fire destroyed 
everything inflammable that it contained. During 
the religious dissensions a generation later, it was 
sacked by Protestant iconoclasts; and it suffered a 
similar experience when the Goddess of Reason was 
set up for worship by the haters of religion on the 
outbreak of the French Revolution. 

Some of the old glass still adorns the window trac- 
ery; the restorations are not too gaudy in color, so 
that a rich, mellow glow floods the carvings in wood 
and stone, and illumines the vaultings. The lights 
on the altars, the haze of incense, the chant of the 
priests and choristers, the faint tinkle of the mass 
bell, and the devout immobility of the scattered 
kneeling figures (mostly female), combine to pro- 
duce a striking effect of grandeur and solemnity. 

Formerly there were thirty-two side chapels : these 
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A Guide to Cities 

were terribly mutilated during the French Revolu- 
tion, and the majority were demolished later; but, 
in addition to the Lady Chapel, twelve still remain. 

The richly-carved marble high-altar is adorned by 
the famous " Assumption of the Virgin," which is 
regarded as one of the finest religious subjects paint- 
ed by Rubens. 

The " Assumption " is said to have been painted in 
sixteen days. The Virgin is represented in the 
clouds surrounded by adoring angels. On the earth 
below is a throng of worshipping saints. The color 
is not so brilliant as is usual with this master; but 
this is probably the best of the thirteen pictures of 
this subject which he painted. 

Beautiful as ISTotre Dame is architecturally, its 
chief fame rests on two masterpieces by Rubens 
that adorn the transepts : — The " Descent from the 
Cross," and the " Elevation of the Cross." The 
former is the more popular, though the latter is pre- 
ferred by some critics. They were painted within 
two years of one another — the " Elevation " in 1610, 
and the " Descent " in 1612. 

Among other works of art is a beautiful old or- 
gan case, with a statue of St. Cecilia, which was 
carved by P. Verbruggen. It is supported by eight 
marble columns. The mechanism of the great organ 
of ninety stops is entirely new, having been built in 
1891. Organ recitals from the works of the best 
composers are given at high mass on Sundays and 
holidays. 

The elaborately-carved pulpit is also the work of 
84 



The City of Antwerp 

Verbruggen. It is supported by four figures emble- 
matic of the Four Quarters of the World; and is 
enriched with a multitude of birds and a mass of 
foliage. 

The choir stalls, although modern, also display 
great richness and delicacy of ornamentation, with 
finish and lightness of execution. 

The treasury of Notre-Dame contains very rich 
examples of early goldsmiths' work, precious both 
for material and workmanship. The diamonds and 
ornaments of the Virgin are of considerable value. 
The banners also of the guilds, richly embroidered 
and set with precious stones, are of unusual magnifi- 
cence. 

There is annual procession of Notre Dame in mid- 
August which is noted throughout the Catholic world 
for its splendour. It attracts thousands of visitors. 

Antwerp is a city of statues: her famous sons 
live in bronze or stone in every square and open space 
in which the city abounds. The most celebrated is 
the statue of Eubens in the centre of the Place Verte 
which we enter on leaving the Cathedral by the south 
door. Peter Paul Eubens was not a native of Ant- 
werp: he was born in Westphalia in 1577. Till ten 
years of age, he lived in Cologne, whence, on the 
death of his father, his accomplished and devoted 
mother moved to Antwerp. There he studied under 
Van Noort and Otho Venius; and in 1600, at the 
age of 23, went to Italy, where he stayed eight years. 
His great talents won recognition from the great 
there; and on his return, the Archduke Albert and 

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A Guide to Cities 

his wife Isabella employed him both on diplomatic 
missions and in art work of all kinds. He visited 
England and Spain in their service, and was also 
called by Marie de Medici to Paris, where he executed 
a wonderful series of decorative works. He married 
his first wife, Isabella Brandt, soon after his return 
from Italy, when he settled in Antwerp. His studio 
soon became famous ; and he gathered around him as 
pupils, or as assistants who were glad to work under 
his eye, the most able painters of his generation. 
The most famous of these was Van Dyck. The per- 
sonality of Rubens overshadows that of all the other 
masters of the Flemish school of painting. He was 
great in all branches of his art — portraits, landscapes, 
animals, historical, religious, allegorical and mytho- 
logical subjects. He also designed triumphal arches, 
cars, etc., for great State and civic processions and 
celebrations. Some of these are still used, for the 
Antwerp citizens are very fond of historical proces- 
sions and pageantry of all kinds. Rubens died in 
1640. The three-hundredth anniversary of his birth 
with celebrated at Antwerp in 1877 with great en- 
thusiasm and with elaborate and splendid festivities. 
Of the house in which he lived, ~No. 7 Rue Rubens, 
nothing remains but the elaborate Renaissance por- 
tico and a garden pavilion. Close by (52 Place de 
Meir) is the so-called House of Rubens's Parents, 
which was built in 1557. It has a richly-decorated 
facade ; and was restored in 1854. The statue in the 
Place Verte, close to the south porch of the Cathe- 
dral, represents him in the robes of an ambassador; 

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The City of Antwerp 

at his feet lie the scrolls and artists' materials of his 
double calling. 

Besides Kubens, the city has honored other great 
Flemish artists with statues: Quentin Massys, at 
the entrance to the Park ; Van Dyck, in front of the 
Musee; David Teniers, in the Place Tenters; and 
Henri Leys, on the Boulevard des Arts. Many other 
monuments adorn the parks and squares. 

The Place Verte was the old Cathedral burying- 
ground, but is now a pretty little park with hotels 
and shops on either side. Opposite the farther end 
is the Post Office. Every evening in fine weather a 
municipal band plays compositions by the best com- 
posers to an interested audience of park loungers and 
people sitting at little tables before the neighboring 
cafes and hotels, smoking and drinking. Each of the 
many guilds and trades-unions of the city has a band 
made up from its own members ; and musical compe- 
titions among these are often held in the Place Verte 
on Sundays and holidays. They take the stand for 
an hour and the verdict as to superiority is given by 
the majority of the assembled music enthusiasts. 

Passing now along the Mar die aux Soulier s we 
come to the Place de Meir, which is the finest thor- 
oughfare in the old town. It was formed by arching 
over an old canal. The Place de Meir is lined with 
fine shops, hotels, cafes and restaurants frequented 
by the well-to-do. On the south side is the Palais du 
Roi, or Palais Royal, built by the architect Baur- 
scheidt in 1745. It is one of the finest types of the 
" Pompadour Style " still standing in the country. 

87 



A Guide to Cities 

It was built to the order of the Lord of S' Graven- 
wezel. Under the French Republic it was seques- 
tered. Napoleon I. next took possession of it; and 
since then it has served as a royal residence. Some 
of the rooms are decorated with beautiful paintings 
by Yervoort the Younger. 

This neighborhood is the great business centre of 
the city. Leading out of the beginning of the Place 
de Meir is the very short Rue des Douze Mots 
(Twelve Months' Street), which brings us directly 
to the Exchange (Bourse). The original of this is 
said to have been the first building of its kind in Eu- 
rope. It certainly was the first establishment in 
Antwerp for foreign and native merchants to meet 
and transact banking and commercial business of all 
kinds. In Elizabethan days, Sir Thomas Gresham 
saw it, and admired it so much that he recommended 
it as a model for the London Exchange. It was built 
in 1531 in the late Gothic style of architecture, but 
was ruined by fire fifty years later. Rebuilt in the 
same style, fire again destroyed it in 1858. The 
present edifice is considerably larger than the old one ; 
but is restored in the same style. There are en- 
trances on all four sides, and the arcades on the 
ground floor are used by the public as thoroughfares. 
It is still regarded as the handsomest Exchange in 
Europe. 

In the immediate neighborhood is the famous 
Eglise St. Jacques (Church of St. James). 

At the close of the fifteenth century, Antwerp 
was so rich and populous that the authorities decided 

88 



The City of Antwerp 

that the existing churches did not suffice for the spir- 
itual needs of all, and therefore determined to build 
another church as large as Notre Dame: the tower 
was to be even higher. The site chosen was the old 
place of public execution. The work was begun in 
1491, and carried on till interrupted by the troubles 
of the Reformation, when pious zeal cooled. The 
bells rang in the tower of St. James's for the first 
time on June 8th ; 1528. In 1566, it suffered from 
the depredations of the rabble that devastated the Ca- 
thedral; and was partly occupied by the Calvinists 
till 1585. They held their conferences in the great 
unfinished nave. 

St. James's is far richer in its monuments and 
other art treasures than the Cathedral is, owing to 
the fact that it escaped spoliation during the French 
Revolution, when Notre Dame suffered so cruelly. 

The pulpit is a wonderful piece of carving by L. 
Willemsens. The great altar of white marble is the 
work of G. Kerriex and L. Willemsens. The statue 
of St. James in the middle is by Artus Quellin the 
Younger. The statues in the choir, as well as the 
beautiful stalls, were carved in part by the two Ar- 
thus Quellins, uncle and nephew. 

On the choir-stalls are emblazoned the arms of the 
nobles who originally occupied them. The one that 
belonged to Eubens is the twelfth to the left from the 
entrance. 

The names of the chapels are as follows: 

Presentation of Our Lady, St. Anthony, St. Roch, 
St. Job, St. Anne, St. John the Baptist, Holy Sacra- 

89 



A Guide to Cities 

ment, Trinity, St. Yves, Resurrection, Rubens (be- 
hind the High Altar), St. Charles, Sts. Peter and 
Paul, Visitation, Virgin, Cross, St. Hubert, St. 
Dympne, Three Kings, Holy Name of Jesus and St. 
Gertrude. 

Of all these, the visitor is most interested in the 
Rubens chapel. In the vault beneath lie the re- 
mains of himself, his second wife Helen Fourment, 
and his descendants. An altar in the grand style of 
the Renaissance is crowned by a life-size " Mater 
Dolorosa " in white marble, a lovely work by Luc 
Faydherbe, left by Rubens himself. The picture 
above the altar represents the Virgin under a leafy 
canopy presenting the Child Jesus to St. Jerome ac- 
companied by Martha and Magdalen. 

In the background, St. George displays a banner, 
at his feet is the dragon that he has just slain. In 
the foreground St. Jerome leans upon his lion and a 
child stands with its back to the spectator. 

In this picture Rubens has immortalized the faces 
of his family : the Virgin is the portrait of Isabella 
Brandt, his first wife; Mary Magdalen has the fea- 
tures of Helen Fourment; the artist himself is St. 
George ; and St. Jerome is the portrait of his father, 
Johannes Rubens. 

In two arched spaces in the thickness of the wall 
on either side of the altar, are two beautiful mar- 
ble statues by W. Geefs representing the " Dying 
Christian " and " Eternity." These are monuments 
of two baronesses, who were descendants of Rubens. 
Through the various chapels a " Road to Calvary " 

90 



The City of Antwerp 

has heen made. This consists of a series of marble 
bas-reliefs of scenes from the Passion, by J. Geefs 
and the De Cuyper brothers. 

If we now return to the Place de Meir by the short 
Rue du Chene and continue our way through the Rue 
Leys and the Place Tenters with its statue of Teniers 
the Younger, we arrive at the Avenues, having crossed 
through the heart of the old city, — a distance of about 
a mile. 

The ramparts enclosing the old town were con- 
structed in 1540-43. In 1859, they were trans- 
formed into a belt of fine boulevards, known as the 
Avenues. Though continuous, they are successively 
named — South, Industry, Arts and Commerce; be- 
ginning at the Southern Railway Station and end- 
ing close to the Grand' Bassin, and the other land- 
locked docks at the north of the city. 

After the levelling of the ground along the old 
ramparts, rendered necessary by the alignment of the 
Avenues, the city authorities transformed the old 
Herenthals fort into a Park. This is a favorite re- 
sort of nurses and children and people of leisure. 
The northern end formed part of the old promenade 
of the ramparts. Landscape gardening — making the 
best use of winding paths, trees, flower-beds, bridges, 
fountains and statues — has made a delightful haunt 
of this Park. Seats are plentiful and music is pro- 
vided by the City in fine weather. 

Not far off is another little park called the Pepi- 
niere. It occupies the site of the old place of execu- 
tion. People frequent this also in fine weather to 

91 



A Guide to Cities 

listen to the birds and the band. We are now in the 
suburbs of the wealthy classes. 

Berchem shares with St. Laurent the privilege of 
being the aristocratic suburb of Antwerp. The dis- 
trict is calm and tranquil ; and is a great contrast to 
the noisy and populous suburb of Borgerhout. It is 
entirely modern in building. On a stone at the bor- 
der is a carved hand indicating the limit of the old 
jurisdiction of Antwerp. When the sovereign made 
his " Joyous Entry/' he always halted here and took 
an oath in the presence of the Antwerp magistracy to 
respect the privileges of the City. 

Another favorite resort is the Zoological Gardens, 
which is one of the finest collections of animals in 
Europe. It includes two of the biggest elephants in 
captivity. The grounds are beautifully laid out; 
there is a fine cafe-restaurant : and band concerts are 
given twice a week. The Museum containing nat- 
ural history specimens is large and amply stocked for 
purposes of study. The big Asiatic quadrupeds are 
housed in a building representing an Egyptian tem- 
ple, imitated from the ruins of the Isle of Phila?. 
An Oriental palace shelters the larger pachyderms; 
and every building is in keeping with the habits and 
homes of its occupants. Bubens used to go here fre- 
quently to study the lions for his great animal pic- 
tures. 

In the south of the old city close to the Avenue du 
Sud is situated the Musee Royal des Beaux-Arts, a 
handsome modern building with an impressive por- 
tico resting on four large Corinthian columns. This 

92 



The City of Antwerp 

Museum contains the picture-gallery of old masters 
collected from the old monasteries and churches of 
Antwerp, the Hotel de Ville, and the Steen, and en- 
riched by private bequests. On the ground floor, we 
find the Sculpture Gallery, and the Rubens Collec- 
tion, consisting of reproductions in black and white 
of his works, and which occupies nine rooms and two 
side halls. The Vestibule de Keyser, in which a 
large staircase leads to the picture-gallery above, is 
decorated with paintings by Mcaise de Keyser, an 
Antwerp painter (1813-1887), and deal with the 
history of the Antwerp School of Art. Conspicuous 
among the painters are Quentin Massys, Frans Flor- 
is, Rubens, Van Dyck, David Teniers, Jan Brueghel 
and Jordaens. Here again we are reminded that 
Antwerp is the city of Rubens, who is so splendidly 
represented in this gallery by works of every period. 
His most famous paintings are the gorgeous " Adora- 
tion of the Magi," the " Holy Family," also called 
the " Virgin of the Parrot " ; " Christ and the Two 
Thieves," an " Entombment," "St. Theresa," the 
" Prodigal Son," the " Communion of St. Francis " 
and the portraits of " Rockox " and his wife on the 
wings of the St. Thomas altar-piece. Van Dyck also 
has a famous " Pieta " here and a fine portrait of a 
child with two dogs by Jan Fyt; and there is a re- 
markable " Crucifixion " by Antonello da Messina. 

The great masters who founded the Flemish School 
of Painting are also well represented. Van Eyck's 
" St. Barbara " seated by her tower, Roger van der 
Weyden's " Seven Sacraments," Quentin Massys's 

93 



A Guide to Cities 

" Entombment," and Memling's " Christ as King of 
Heaven " are the most famous. The latter, a large 
picture twenty-three feet long and five and a half 
feet high, represents Christ with six singing angels 
around him, and on each wing are five angels playing 
musical instruments. The gallery also contains fine 
works by Jordaens, Jan Fyt and Snyders. Seven 
rooms are devoted to modern masters. Here are 
fully displayed the qualities that have made Belgian 
art famous again in the last generation. The collec- 
tion of old masters numbers about eight hundred 
works and the gallery of modern paintings about three 
hundred. 

There are other old churches with artistic treas- 
ures that demand a visit. The oldest of these is St. 
Paul's, not far from the old Boucherie. 

St. Paul's was begun by the Dominicans in 1248 
on low ground that was frequently overflowed by 
the river. In 1540, it was rebuilt on its present site, 
being completed in 1571. In 1797, the agents of 
the French Republic seized and sold it. In 1845, 
it became a parish church. It is still an edifice of 
great veneration. 

The great choir is lighted by beautiful lancet 
windows, and up to a certain height its walls as well 
as those of the nave are covered with fine carved 
woodwork of the Renaissance style. The choir 
stalls and confessionals also are richly carved; and 
are regarded by many people as the finest in the 
country. 

Above the woodwork on the side walls are fifteen 
94 



The City of Antwerp 

paintings, the majority of which are signed by great 
masters. 

The high altar of the choir is approached by 
fifteen steps: it is adorned with a fine statue of St. 
Paul, and a " Descent from the Cross " by Cels. 
The choir also is ornamented with some fine monu- 
ments and statues of saints. 

Many fine pictures decorate the other altars and 
walls. Among them, the " Adoration of the Kings " 
and the " Flagellation " by Rubens, are particularly 
noticeable. The color of the latter is wonderfully 
fresh and vivid. Very beautiful also are the pic- 
tures by Gaspard de Craeyer and Artus Quellin. 

The organ is said to be one of the finest in the 
country. 

In the enclosure that was formerly the cemetery 
of the church is a curious construction called The 
Calvary. It is a sort of mount and grotto, built up 
of rocks, clinkers, and broken glass and adorned with 
a number of life-size figures of angels, saints, and 
martyrs. The top of the slope is as high as the roof 
of the church, and represents the place of crucifixion. 
Various groups represent scenes from the Passion. 
In the cavern at the base is Christ in the sepulchre, 
an object of great veneration among the faithful. An- 
other cavern represents Purgatory, in which wooden 
images of human figures are writhing in the flames. 
At the entrance are statues of two Dominican monks 
who went to Jerusalem to get the plans of the Holy 
Sepulchre. 

There is no more interesting relic of Renaissance 
95 



A Guide to Cities 

days in Antwerp than the buildings in the Marche 
du Vendredi that was once the home and workshop 
of Christopher Plantin, the " Prince of Publishers." 
To the antiquarian and art-student it is interesting as 
a decorative monument of a most interesting period, 
for it is a treasure house of painting, sculpture, 
carved wood-work, wrought metal, porcelain, glass 
and tapestry. To those who are interested in the 
" noble art of printing " it affords an unusual oppor- 
tunity of studying everything connected with book- 
making in the days of the Revival of Learning. 

Christopher Plantin was born at St. Avertin near 
Tours (France) between 1514 and 1520. He went 
to Paris very young and learned bookbinding. He 
next worked with a printer at Caen, and after a 
series of more or less lengthy stays in the principal 
French workshops, particularly Lyons, he went to the 
Low Countries, and about 1555, founded in Antwerp 
a printing-house that later became the most important 
one in the world. There, twenty presses were often 
in full operation at once ; and the workmen's wages 
amounted to one hundred ducats, or about two hun- 
dred dollars a day in present money. His works, 
like those of Aldus in Venice, were distinguished 
for their elegance and correctness of printing. Al- 
though largely self-taught, Plantin was a man of 
learning, as well as taste. He was well acquainted 
with foreign languages, as well as Hebrew, Greek, 
and Latin. He was thus well qualified to print all 
kinds of works, especially as he had acquired the 
richest collection of type that could be got. More- 

96 



The City of Antwerp 

over, he tried to attain perfection in correctness, even 
exposing all his proofs at his house-door and offering 
a reward to anybody who would point out an error. 
His choice of subjects was admirable: he printed 
works of Classics, mathematics, Church history and 
liturgy, science, art, law and philology. A complete 
collection of his publications may be examined in 
the Plantin Museum. His house became the centre 
of intellectual and artistic life. He employed the 
most famous artists and scholars as illustrators, 
writers, engravers and proof-readers. The principal 
of these were Rubens, Van Dyck, Martin de Vos, 
Van der Broeck, Guicciardini, Dodonaens, Ortelius, 
Clusins and de Lobel. The chief copper engravers 
were the Galles, Van de Passes and Wierixes; and 
the wood engravers, A. Van Leest, A. Nicolai, Geer- 
nart and Van Kampen. 

Christopher went to Leyden for a time on account 
of religious disturbance in Antwerp, and founded an- 
other house. He returned, however, and left the Ley- 
den business to a son-in-law. He left the Antwerp 
business to another son-in-law, Johannes Moretus, 
when he died in 1589. In 1875, E. F. Moretus, a 
lineal descendant, sold the whole property to the city 
for $240,000. The buildings surround a courtyard. 
The part that was used as a dwelling has not been 
changed since the printer bought it from a certain 
Martin Lopez. 

To the book-maker, the industrial parts of the old 
establishment with the old presses, proofs, type, etc., 
will prove the most interesting. The Bibliophile 

97 



A Guide to Cities 

will rather dwell on the Salle des Bibles and the 
Manuscript Room. The Salle des Bibles is, more- 
over, beautifully decorated with fine oak panelling, 
beautiful furniture of the period, porcelain from the 
Indies, and family portraits by Rubens and other 
painters. Similar treasures adorn the Salle des Con- 
ferences; and the family dwelling rooms form a val- 
uable museum of domestic art treasures. 



98 






THE HAGUE 

"THE LARGEST VILLAGE IN EUROPE" 

^1HE HAGUE is first of all a city of fashion, 
L and draws its very life-blood from the Court 
and the nobility. When the Queen of Holland is in 
residence, and Parliament is sitting, the stately town 
houses of the nobility, ambassadors, and fashionable 
people open, and the Lange Voorhout and the Vyver 
become gay with equipages, liveried footmen, sol- 
diers, sentries, officers, and ladies and gentlemen in 
rich attire. 

It is a town of extreme beauty: it is well cared 
for ; and has been called " the cleanest capital in Eu- 
rope." It is charming in the spring, when the pink 
and white horsechestnuts are in bloom along the 
Vyver and the lime trees bordering the canals drop 
their sweet scented petals in the quiet waters ; and it 
is hardly less attractive when the full leafage of 
summer turns the Pleins, the Lange Voorhout, the 
Noordeinde, and the Koninginne GracM, and other 
streets and canals into bowers of shade and beauty. 

The Hague is an ancient town. The Dutch call it 
s'Gravenshage, meaning the Count's Enclosure, or 
Hedge. It was originally a hunting-seat, or shoot- 
ing-box, built as far back as 1250, by William, Duke 

99 



A Guide to Cities 

of Holland and Emperor of Germany, on the site of 
an older residence of his predecessors. Under Count 
William II. it became the Court residence. It was 
plundered by the people of Guelderland in 1528; 
laid waste by the Spaniards in 1574; restored by 
William I. in 1576; and in 1584 was made the seat 
of the States-General of Holland. Not being repre- 
sented in that assembly, it was regarded as " the 
largest village in Europe," which designation has 
clung to it. Nevertheless, it was in this village that 
alliances were concluded which exercised a decisive 
influence on the course of the history of the seven- 
teenth century and the first third of the succeeding 
century. Moreover, at the present day, the most im- 
portant conferences that affect the future peace and 
happiness of mankind are held in this " village " in 
the comparatively insignificant House in the Wood. 

By the latter end of the sixteenth century, The 
Hague had become the political centre of the coun- 
try; and, consequently, the scene of all that was 
bright and gay, and much that was turbulent. 

The Hague was the scene of the tragic death of 
two Grand Pensionaries, Olden Barne veldt and John 
de Witt. Jan van Olden Barneveldt was born in 
Amersfoort in 1547, was a lawyer, a soldier and a 
diplomatist. He early sympathized with his coun- 
trymen to throw off the yoke of Spain and fought 
against the Spaniards at the sieges of Haarlem and 
Leyden. He headed an embassy to England to offer 
Queen Elizabeth the sovereignty of the United Prov- 
inces if she would aid them ; and the Queen refusing 

100 



The Hague 

the sovereignty sent an expedition under the Earl of 
Leicester. When the latter became too arrogant and 
dictatorial, Barneveldt persuaded the States-General 
to appoint young Maurice of Nassau Stadtholder 
and Captain-General; and Leicester was recalled. 
Barneveldt was sent on various important embassies, 
and, in 1607, began to negotiate with Spain for a 
truce, which was concluded in 1609. This excited 
the opposition of Prince Maurice and his party ; and 
the two great men, once such firm friends, became 
the bitterest enemies. The flame was further fanned 
by the two religious parties, the Gomarites (the 
Calvinists) which Prince Maurice supported, and 
the Arminians which Barneveldt supported. Mau- 
rice, who wanted to be absolute sovereign, was de- 
termined to make his the state religion; Barneveldt, 
who endeavored to preserve the freedom of the re- 
public, contended that every province should be free 
to worship as it pleased. 

The great interview between Prince Maurice and 
Barneveldt on Aug. 17, 1618, led to no result. 
About ten days later, Barneveldt and his friends, 
Hugo Grotius and Hoogerbeets, were arrested and 
imprisoned. The trial was something of a farce; 
for although the accusations against Barneveldt 
were disproved, he was found guilty and condemned 
to death. He was beheaded on May 14, 1619, and 
faced death with the utmost courage. 

Another terrible tragedy occured in 1672. John 
de Witt had been Grand Pensionary of Holland for 
twenty years. He was head of the Republican 

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A Guide to Cities 

party, which, was opposed by the Orange party. The 
latter wanted a hereditary Stadtholder. National 
disasters at last infuriated the populace, who sought 
a victim. Cornells de Witt was falsely accused of 
plotting the death of William III. the Stadtholder. 
He was tortured and condemned to banishment. 

When his brother, John de Witt, hurried to the 
Gevangenpoort to give him protection, the infuriated 
mob, believing that both were guilty, forced their 
way into the prison and tore the brothers limb from 
limb. Their bodies were buried in the Nieuwe 
Kerk. 

One of the charms of The Hague is the numbers 
of squares and parks it contains, not to speak of 
the beautiful Bosch that lies between it and Schev- 
eningen, and the Haagsche Bosch in another direc- 
tion, with its stately avenues of old trees, in which 
is situated the Huis ten Bosch (House in the Wood). 

There are not as many canals in The Hague as 
there are in most cities of Holland; but it is dis- 
tinguished by broad avenues and public squares on 
which front imposing palaces, dwelling-houses, thea- 
tres, libraries, churches, museums, hotels, restau- 
rants, cafes (many surrounded by little gardens), 
and innumerable shops. The buildings are of gray 
stone, or red brick, with heavy white cornices and 
door and window frames ; and they have a very pic- 
turesque, as well as homelike appearance under the 
green trees. In many of the dwelling-houses, the up- 
per floors project beyond the lower ones, standing 
therefore out of plumb, and are supplied with cranes 

102 



The Hague 

for hoisting articles, — a feature that we frequently 
see in Dutch buildings. 

The two centres of interest are the Vyver and the 
Plein. 

The Vyver, or Fish-Pond, is a lake bordered with 
trees and containing an island planted with rhodo- 
dendrons, where the swans and other water birds 
that swim on the glassy surface in such numbers 
make their nests. The long quay on one side is a 
fashionable promenade called The Vyverberg. It is 
bordered with dwellings of wealthy citizens, among 
which is the house of Baron Steengracht, who has a 
noted picture-gallery there. 

Looking across the Vyver, we see the back of the 
Binnenhof and the Mauritshuis, that seem to rise 
out of the lake itself, for the waters wash against 
their very foundations. 

The Vyver has always been a subject of interest 
to Dutch painters; and you will notice in the gal- 
leries of Holland many representations of it at dif- 
ferent periods. It is not only one of the most at- 
tractive spots in The Hague; but around it cluster 
much of the romance and tragedy the city has to tell. 

Suppose we walk around and enter the Binnenhof, 
the old Palace of the Stadtholders. The name Bin- 
nenhof (Inner Court) is given both to the group of 
buildings that forms the Palace, and to the court- 
yard in which they stand. It is entered by several 
gates bearing the arms of Holland; but in former 
days it was surrounded by a moat and approached 
by drawbridges. Arcades run around the four sides 

103 



A Guide to Cities 

of the courtyard. The oldest part, on the east side 
of the courtyard, that resembles in some degree a 
chapel, though it has turrets and a gable, is called the 
Hall of the Knights. It was built by William II. 
of Holland in 1249, and enlarged by his son, Floris 
V. In front of it, Olden Barneveldt was executed 
in 1619. In the Great Chamber, which is 130 feet 
long, 62 feet broad and 69 feet high, the States of 
the Netherlands abjured their allegiance to Philip 
II. of Spain. 

Courts of justice are held in the Binnenhof ; here 
the archives of the kingdom are preserved ; and here 
the two Chambers of the States-General meet. 

The legislative power of Holland is exercised by 
the Sovereign and the States-General, the latter com- 
posed of two Chambers: the first (Eerste Earner) 
corresponds to the United States Senate; and the 
second (Tweede Earner) to the House of Eepresen- 
tatives. These two Chambers must always sit at The 
Hague in the legislative Palace, or Binnenhof. 

The proceedings of Parliament will be interesting 
to the visitor because they resemble those of Wash- 
ington rather than Paris. The Second Chamber is 
rectangular and unornamented. The seats are ar- 
ranged in an amphitheatre. There is a throne for the 
Sovereign ; and, facing it, the seat of the President of 
the Chamber. Above are public galleries. Every ora- 
tor addresses the President from his seat. The Presi- 
dent uses a gavel for keeping order; but, as a rule, 
the sittings are quiet, with few interruptions. A 
call to order is not frequent. 

104 



The Hague 

According to law, Parliament meets annually on 
the third Tuesday in September. The members are 
not required to take an oath of fealty to the Sover- 
eign; hut one of public probity and fidelity to the 
Constitution. The Presidents of both Chambers are 
nominated by the Crown from a list of three selected 
by the members. ~No member can be prosecuted for 
his speech during debate ; and half the members con- 
stitute a quorum. The Sovereign can dissolve both 
Chambers if he thinks the public or dynastic inter- 
est requires such action. 

There are a hundred members in the Second 
Chamber, who are elected by direct vote. The First 
Chamber consists of fifty members elected by the 
Provincial Estates, for a term of nine years. 

The members of the First Chamber are paid eight 
florins a day ($3.20) during the sessions, and mile- 
age; the members of the Second Chamber are paid 
$850 a year, without travelling expenses. 

The Hall used by the First Chamber, formerly 
used for the sittings of the States-General, contains 
two elaborately carved chimney-pieces: one, by Jan 
Lievens, representing " War " ; and the other, by 
Adrian Hanneman, representing " Peace." The 
richly painted ceiling dates from about 1650. 

The Treves Saloon, built by William III. in 1697, 
a fine reception-room, with a peculiar echo, is one of 
the show places in The Hague. 

The Binnenhof was the home of all the Stadt- 
holders from the days of Maurice of Nassau, who 
died here in 1625. The Hague is so full of mem- 

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A Guide to Cities 

cries of this great Prince of Orange that we may 
pause to speak briefly of his great career. He was 
only seventeen when his father William L, called 
William the Silent, was assassinated in Delft in 
1584; and, notwithstanding his youth, he was elected 
Stadtholder. At this period the Spaniards had 
control of the greater part of the Netherlands ; 
but Prince Maurice rapidly captured one city 
after another and one fortress after another, and 
in July, 1600, won the great victory of Nieu- 
port. Prince Maurice of Nassau therefore was 
something of an idol with the people. It was 
against his advice that the States-General signed a 
twelve-years' treaty of peace with Spain in 1609 ; 
and quarrels ensued. Olden-Barneveldt, the Grand 
Pensionary, or Prime Minister, who had been a 
great friend of Prince Maurice, led the opposition; 
and the latter, who had ambitions of becoming sover- 
eign, had the old man, then in his seventy-second 
year, arrested and condemned to death " for having 
conspired to dismember the States of the Nether- 
lands and greatly troubled God's church." The 
Grand Pensionary was executed, on May 14, 1619, 
on a scaffold in front of the Binnenhof, as we have 
pointed out, and declared he " had ever acted from 
sincerely pious and patriotic motives." This execu- 
tion is a stain on the Prince's memory. 

Prince Maurice was succeeded by his brother, 
Frederick Henry, during whose rule the Dutch 
reached their height of prosperity, triumphing over 
the Spaniards by land and sea, extending their com- 

106 



The Hague 

merce, especially in the East, and attaining their 
greatest achievements in painting. 

Adjoining the Binnenhof is the Mauritshuis, the 
Palace of Prince John Maurice of Nassau-Siegen, the 
Dutch West India Company's Governor of Brazil. 
He spared no thought nor expense to make his house 
beautiful. The Court architect, Pieter Post, and 
Jacob van Campen, who built the Dam in Amster- 
dam, designed the house, which was begun in 1633 
and finished in 1644, when Prince Maurice returned. 
The latter sent rare woods from Brazil to decorate 
the interior; Frans Post painted Brazilian scenes 
on the walls ; and much heavy gilding made the rooms 
very brilliant. Sixty years after it was completed, 
a fire destroyed everything but the walls. The ex- 
terior was soon restored in the original style; but 
no attempt was made to repeat the splendor of the 
interior. In 1820, it was decided to make the Mau- 
ritshuis the home of the Royal Picture Gallery; and 
the fine collection that belonged to the Princes of the 
House of Orange, particularly to the Stadtholder 
William V. (1748-1800) and to Prince Frederick 
Henry and his wife, Amalia of Solms, were removed 
from the Binnenhof. Some of these had been car- 
ried away by the French army in 1795 and hung in 
the Louvre. They were returned, however, in 1815, 
amid the firing of cannon, ringing of bells and gen- 
eral rejoicing. 

The Hague Gallery, containing five hundred pict- 
ures, is filled with gems by Dutch and Flemish 
masters. The most celebrated picture is " The Bull," 

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A Guide to Cities 

painted in 1647 by Paul Potter, who was then only 
twenty-two years of age. When this picture was in 
the Louvre, it was considered one of the four great- 
est pictures there, one of the others being Raphael's 
" Transfiguration." 

The great black and white Bull, almost as large as 
life, stands on a hill beneath two trees, behind the 
trunks of which is seen the shepherd with a ram and 
under which lie a cow, a sheep and a lamb. A vast 
meadow stretches far in the distance. 

The very hide of the Bull seems to twitch as you 
look at him, and his fiery eye to grow more savage ; 
but a still more wonderful triumph of the painter's 
skill is the face of the cow. Her eyes and her wet, 
dripping nose and mouth are marvellously true to 
life. 

There is another splendid picture here also by 
Paul Potter, called " The Mirrored Cow," which 
many critics prefer to the " Bull." The picture takes 
its name from a cow that is standing in the middle of 
a clear pool with her back to the spectator; and her 
reflected image is as vivid as herself. Other animals 
are scattered under the trees near the farmhouse. 
The beautiful landscape is flooded with sunshine. 

Rembrandt's " Anatomy Lesson," representing Dr. 
Nicholas Tulp, who is lecturing to seven physicians 
on the arm of a dead man that has just been cut at 
the wrist, was painted for the Amsterdam Guild of 
Surgeons in 1632 ; it made Rembrandt the most 
popular portrait painter of his time. The work hung 
in the Surgeons' Hall at Amsterdam until 1828, 

108 



The Hague 

when King William I. bought it for 32,000 florins 
($12,800). 

RuysdaePs " View of Haarlem," from the dunes 
of Overveen, represents an immense stretch of country 
across the meadows all the way to Haarlem, the 
spires and towers of which appear on the horizon 
where the Groote KerJc is also conspicuous. In the 
foreground is a bleaching-ground, where women are 
spreading linen in front of their long-roofed houses. 
All these miles are represented on a little canvas 
about one foot, eight inches square ! 

There is also a celebrated work by Gerard Dow 
called " The Good Housekeeper," in which a lady is 
sitting in her hall sewing beside a cradle and about 
to superintend the dinner. All around her are birds, 
game, fish and vegetables. It is a marvel of delicate 
painting, even for Dow who once spent three days 
painting a broom the size of his finger-nail. The di- 
rectors of the East India Company gave this picture 
to Charles II. when he left Holland, thinking it the 
best present they could offer him. William, Prince 
of Orange, who became King of England, brought 
it back to Holland and hung it in Het Loo, near 
Zwolle, and still the favorite royal residence. 

Another masterpiece of the first rank is Rubens's 
Portrait of " Helena Fourment," one of the most 
beautiful of the many he painted of his second wife. 
Her complexion is lovely ; her eyes bright ; her mouth 
like a cherry; and her light hair, roped with pearls, 
silky and lustrous. The costume is fine — blue satin 
slashed with white, a black velvet cloak with a fur 

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A Guide to Cities 

collar; a toque with plume; and splendid jewels. 
Filmy ruffs ornament her wrists, and in one hand 
she holds two pink roses. 

Travellers, as a rule, spend so much time at the 
Mauritshuis that thej go away without seeing much 
of The Hague. 

On the other side of the Binnenhof is a large open 
space called the Buitenhof (Outer Court) in which 
is a statue of William II. The Buitenhof is bounded 
on the northwest side by the Vyver ; and between the 
Buitenhof and the Plaats frowns the ancient tower, 
the Gevangenpoort, with its gateway that leads from 
one to the other. 

The Gevangenpoort, in which a collection of in- 
struments of torture is exhibited, was also the scene 
of a "dark tragedy. Here the de Witt brothers were 
murdered by the populace. 

From the Gevangenpoort, the Kneuterdyh leads 
into the Lange Voorhout, the most aristocratic quar- 
ter of the town, built up with fine residences and 
planted with beautiful trees. On the east side of the 
Lange Yoorhout, we note the Palace of the Dowager 
Queen Emma ; on the north side, the Royal Library ; 
and on the Kneuterdyh and ParJc-Straat, the house 
of Olden-Barneveldt, now occupied by the Ministry 
of Finance. 

A good idea of the royal and fashionable district 
is to be had by passing along the Vyverberg, the 
Tournooiveld (tilt-yard), and the Lange Yoorhout 
into the wide Noordeinde Straat, past the Royal 
Palace, and around Willems-Park to Java-Straat; 

110 



The Hague 

thence down the canal called Kominginne Gracht, to 
the Korte Voorhout; into the Tournooiveld again; 
and thence along the Vyverberg to the Plaats and re- 
turning to Buitenhof . 

The Royal Palace on the Noordeinde, purchased 
by the States of the Netherlands in 1595 was rebuilt 
by Prince William III. and enlarged by King Will- 
iam I. The exterior is simple enough ; but it is sump- 
tuous within. A bronze equestrian statue of William 
I. of Orange, stands in front of the Palace. On the 
northeast, Paleis-Straat leads through what was once 
the Palace Garden. Beyond this is the Mauritskade, 
on the canal called Singelsgracht, beyond which is 
Willems-Park, in the centre of which is an open 
place called the Plein, 1818, with a National Monu- 
ment commemorating the restoration of the Dutch in- 
dependence in 1813. On the north of Willems-Park 
lies Java-Straat, which leads into the Old Scheven- 
ingen Road. 

It is easy enough to recognize the Plein, a large 
square in which stands a statue of William I. Here 
the tramways and electric cars meet; and here we 
find hotels, business offices and shops. The Plein is 
the centre of life; and is generally thronged with 
people. From it lead the Koorte Pooten, the Lange 
Pooten, and Spui-Straat, the three making one con- 
tinuous street. Spui-Straat is always gay with 
promenaders in the afternoon. From the middle of 
Spui-Straat, an arcade built in the Dutch Renais- 
sance style and containing many attractive shops, 
runs north and into the Buitenhof. Again the Buit- 

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A Guide to Cities 

enliof ! Again the Binnenhof ! You see we cannot 
escape these in our walks. 

Spui-Straat and its continuation Vlaming-Straat 
will take us to the Groenmarkt and the Yischmarkt, 
the vegetable and fish markets, where we shall see 
much to interest us. Here are gathered the peasant 
women, with their quaint caps and short dresses, 
walking or standing by the side of their little carts 
piled mountain-high with vegetables and drawn by 
one, two, or three dogs ; and here are the fish- women 
from Scheveningen with their bare arms that have 
turned purple from exposure to the weather, — a mat- 
ter of pride with these hardy females. 

In addition to the market women, the individual 
types seen in the streets are the orphans in their 
red and black costumes, the girls wearing also a white 
linen cap and long chamois skin gloves to the elbow ; 
a group of men dressed in black with white cravats, 
crape on their hats and cigars in their mouths, car- 
rying cards, letters and lists, on their way to invite 
guests to a funeral; policemen in dark tunics and 
helmets like Prussian soldiers ; and a Roman Catholic 
priest, who, instead of a cassock, is dressed in a long 
redingote, short waistcoat, black stockings, and shoes 
with silver buckles. You will also see very frequent- 
ly a woman who wears a kind of skull cap of gold or 
silver, beautifully polished, which fits the head very 
closely just above the ears, leaving the forehead bare. 
In the top there is a round hole for ventilation. This 
is called a Jioofdizer (head-iron) ; and over it is often 
worn a lace hood, though sometimes a modern bon- 

112 



The Hague 

net is perched upon it, which has a very comical ef- 
fect. Sometimes at the sides of this metal cap and 
on a level with the eyes are spiral ornaments of gold. 
These hoofdizers are often handed down from one 
generation to another as heirlooms. 

Housekeepers in Holland do not go as a rule to 
market: all the vendors come to the door with their 
carts. The bell is ringing from seven in the morn- 
ing until ten o'clock at night. First comes the milk, 
carried around by means of a little wagon, generally 
drawn by a dog, with its brass or copper cans and 
measures shining brightly. By its side walks a man 
or a woman. Next comes the baker, then the grocer, 
and then the vegetable seller. At each ring the serv- 
ant appears with a special basket — a long one for 
the bread; a round one for the vegetables, and a 
wooden dish painted green for the potatoes. Then 
comes the postman; then the ashman, and so on. 
Twice a week come the licensed organ-grinders ; and 
collectors for various philanthropical societies; and 
then vendors of oranges, fish, mats, baskets, — so the 
bell is ringing all day long! 

Early in the morning, the servants, armed with 
pails and kettles, go out to buy water and fire from 
the vendor at the corner who sells a cent's worth of 
boiling water to make the tea, and a piece of lighted 
peat for the same price. Here we may also mention 
the strange employment of a waker, who, for a few 
cents will knock, or ring, at the house to awaken 
heavy sleepers who have to get to business or to work. 
Men rarely return home for their mid-day meal ; but 

113 



A Guide to Cities 

from four to six the streets are thronged with crowds 
hurrying to their houses. The cafes also begin to 
fill at this time, and everything assumes an air of 
gaiety and brightness. 

The passion of the Dutch for cleaning has passed 
into a proverb. Every morning the house is liter- 
ally taken to pieces and everything swept, cleaned 
and brushed; carpets and rugs are beaten in the 
streets and every article is dusted, banged, washed 
and shaken. This is not enough, however, for every 
spring there is a general epidemic of house-cleaning 
on a bigger scale. 

The houses are, generally speaking, occupied by 
two families, and are divided into two apartments. 
The lower one, called the benedenhuis, consists of the 
lower floors ; and the second, called the bovenhuis, of 
the first and second floors and the attic. Each of 
these apartments has its own entrance ; and often the 
house is surrounded by a garden to which every year 
new turf and gravel are brought to replace what the 
waters have carried away. Many apartments have 
the parlor in the front and a dining-room in the back 
and between them a windowless room which is used 
as a sitting-room, particularly in the cold winter 
evenings. 

You have probably noticed in the picture galleries 
how fond the Dutch masters are of painting the 
magic beauty of snow and ice and the delights of 
skating, sledding and sleighing; and the scenes that 
Aart van der Neer, Isaac van Ostade and others have 
perpetuated on canvas are enacted every winter in 

114 



The Hague 

Holland. On all the canals, ponds and dykes reap- 
pear the same sledges drawn by horses; the same 
sledges pushed by skaters ; the same skaters for plea- 
sure and skaters to market, or to work; the same 
booths on the ice for refreshment; and the same 
handsome sleighs drawn by horses decorated with 
plumes and merry bells. 

As early as 1514, a traveller marvelled at these 
men, women and children flying about on their skates 
as if they had wings. " Things have not changed 
to-day," a Dutch writer tells us. " There is joy on 
every face when the first snow falls, but how much 
more delight when the canals are frozen ! And when 
the cold continues every one is filled with enthu- 
siasm, indeed with delirium. Everybody appears 
with skates hanging from his neck, or arm. The 
tramways that go to the Ice Clubs are crowded. The 
schools give holiday. Concerts and other evening 
entertainments are arranged on the ice. On all the 
canals in the towns and in the country, you see old 
and young alike on skates. Physicians even carry 
their skates with them in their carriages to have a 
little turn between two visits. Skating-parties, too, go 
long distances. People even go from The Hague and 
Rotterdam as far as Gouda, to buy the celebrated pipe 
to be offered to the bride on her marriage day; and 
it is a crowning triumph to bring it back without 
breaking the long stem. This pipe is the symbol of 
the dignity of marriage, showing that the husband is 
lord of his house." 

The skaters of The Hague are famous for their 
115 



A Guide to Cities 

grace ; and in no city are there more brilliant winter 
scenes. A modern writer says : 

" The large pond in the centre of The Hague near 
the Binnenhof is carried by storm by a multitude of 
people elbowing and pushing each other, mingling 
in one confused seething mass, like a crowd seized 
by a fit of dizziness. The cream of the aristocracy 
skate upon a pond in the Bosch, and there, officers, 
ladies, members of parliament, students, old men and 
boys may be distinguished, flitting here and there in 
the falling snow, a crowd of spectators flocking 
around them, the loud music of the military bands 
lending additional animation to the merry scene, and 
the great disc of the Netherlands sun shining 
through the giant beeches and sending them its last 
dazzling farewell ere it sinks below the horizon." 

ISTear the markets are the Town Hall, and the 
Church of St. James, better known as the Groote 
Kerk. 

The Town Hall is one of the most interesting ed- 
ifices of its kind in Holland. It was finished in 
1565, enlarged by a north wing in 1734; and again 
restored and extended in 1882-83. It is in a splen- 
did state of preservation, and a good specimen of 
Dutch architecture. The statues on the main facade 
are " Justice " and " Prudence." 

The Groote Kerk is a Gothic building of the fif- 
teenth and sixteenth centuries with a six-sided 
tower surmounted by a modern open work iron spire. 
The interior is vaulted. In the choir there is a 
carved wooden pulpit of 1550, and carved frames of 

116 



The Hague 

the coats-of-arms of some Knights of the Golden 
Fleece. The Golden Fleece, one of the most cele- 
brated Orders of Knighthood, was founded in 1429 
by Philip III., Duke of Burgundy and the Nether- 
lands, at Bruges, on the occasion of his marriage to 
Isabella, daughter of the King of Portugal. Wool- 
weaving was the chief source of income in the Low 
Countries in those days ; and it was probably for this 
reason rather than because of the Grecian myth that 
the fleece was chosen for an emblem. 

There are some fine old monuments here, one of 
alabaster, dating from 1486; and there are some 
stained-glass windows dating from 1547. In this 
church Queen Wilhelmina was married to Duke 
Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, on Feb. 7, 1901. 

From the Spui-Straat, the Gedempte Spui leads 
south to the Nieuwe Kerk, built in the Seventeenth 
Century and containing the tombs of Cornells and 
John de Witt. The Dutch philosopher, Spinoza, also 
lies here. The house where the latter lived from 
1671 till his death in 1677, is in Pavel joensgracht, 
No. 32. Whether you care about Spinoza, or not, 
it is a good type of a Dutch house of the seventeenth 
century. 

When Prince Frederick Henry of Orange, Prince 
Maurice's brother, died in 1647, his widow, Princess 
Amalia of Solms, erected as a memorial to him the 
royal villa with the pretty name of House in the 
Wood. This is situated about a mile and a half 
from The Hague, at the end of the park called the 
Bosch. 

117 



A Guide to Cities 

The Princess employed the best architects of the 
day, Pieter Post and Van Campen, to build the 
house and the most celebrated painters to adorn it. 
In the Orange Room, an octagonal room in the centre 
and lighted by the cupola, are paintings by Dutch 
and Flemish artists depicting scenes from the life of 
Prince Frederick Henry. There is also a por- 
trait of the Princess Amalia and a picture of 
the same Princess with her four daughters by 
Hornthorst. The other pictures deal with mytho- 
logical subjects; and there is also a series depicting 
Count John Maurice of Nassau's Conquest of Bra- 
zil. It was in the Orange Room that the members 
of the Peace Conference met in 1899. 

Prince William IY. added the wings in 1748. The 
Chinese Room and the Japanese Room are full of 
Oriental furniture, hangings and embroideries, and 
cabinets of curios; and the Dining Room, which is 
painted in grisaille in imitation of bas-reliefs, con- 
tains a superb collection of Oriental and Dutch por- 
celain and earthenware. 

Shady winding alleys and a lovely lake are the feat- 
ures of the Bosch, where the crowds gather on pleas- 
ant days to listen to the military band that plays 
here twice a week; and in the winter to skate on the 
lake. 

A tramway starting from the Plein and running 
along the Vyverberg, Kneuterdyk, Park-Straat, 
Plein, 1813, Java-Straat and the Old Scheveningen 
Road will take us to Scheveningen in half an hour. 

Scheveningen and The Hague are so close together 
118 



The Hague 

that it is hard to tell where the one ends and the 
other begins. 

The Old Boad, which was laid out in 1666, is 
beautifully shaded with trees, and on the right be- 
tween the road and the Canal lies the Scheveningen- 
sche Bosch, — a fine old park. The road is lined on 
both sides with houses and villas, each standing in 
a pretty garden bright with flowers and green with 
shrubs. Each house is individual in appearance, but 
unmistakably Dutch; and all have the air of cosy 
comfort, with their curtained windows, awnings and 
scalloped half shades. 

Unless it is a Sunday or holiday, in which case the 
road is thronged, we see but few persons coming 
towards or from The Hague. Occasionally some 
Scheveningen peasants with their large headdresses, 
short skirts and bare purple arms, or a woman wear- 
ing one of those strange metal helmets, trudge along 
the way. Sometimes, too, a bicyclist spins by. As 
we pass the houses we catch glimpses of the inmates 
at their doors or windows, drinking tea, knitting and 
smoking; for the Dutch love to see what is passing 
and have no dislike of being seen. 

A Roman Catholic church marks the beginning of 
Scheveningen, — three-quarters of a mile from the 
beach. 

There are, in fact, two Scheveningens : one, the 
most fashionable watering-place on the Dutch coast ; 
and the other, a little fishing-village. 

Fashionable Scheveningen is the one we have come 
to see. Our tram brings us to the Curhaus, a build- 

119 



A Guide to Cities 

ing, three hundred feet long, with large verandahs. 
Fashionable Scheveningen, consisting of hotels, res- 
taurants, cafes, and villas to accommodate the 30,000 
visitors who come here every summer, is built on the 
top of the Dunes. A terrace paved with brick runs 
for a distance of a mile; and below this fine prom- 
enade is a road called the Boulevard, on which are 
also situated cafes, restaurants and attractive shops. 
About the middle of this promenade a long pier ex- 
tends far out into the sea and is terminated by a 
pavilion, containing a restaurant and variety theatre. 
Far to the south on the beach stands a lighthouse, 
from which a fine view is obtained. J^umerous hotels 
and villas lie to the north and south of the Terrace. 

The visitors are chiefly Dutch and German; but 
there are also a good many English, American, Rus- 
sian and Danish tourists. A list of the newcomers 
is given in the daily paper, the Courier de Scheven- 
ingue, published in the French language, which 
everybody is supposed to speak. 

Scheveningen is very gay during the months of 
July and August: the buildings are brilliantly il- 
luminated; and there are fireworks, balls, theatrical 
entertainments to suit all tastes, and innumerable 
concerts. 

The large glass domed Cursaal can accommodate 
2,900 persons. Here various entertainments are 
given and in the concert-halls the best music can be 
heard. Symphony concerts take place once a week; 
for some orchestra of reputation is always at Schev- 
eningen. 

120 



The Hague 

Tea-rooms and cafes are frequented in the after- 
noons and the crowds of people who promenade the 
Boulevard and Terrace or lounge upon the beach are 
very interesting for foreigners like ourselves to 
watch. We feel very much in Europe when we stroll 
about in Scheveningen. 

And what a strange beach ! The sands are very 
wide and stretch north and south without a break or 
a turn, straight as an arrow. Far away from us the 
blue waves roll in, curl and break into snowy foam. 
A number of fishing-boats, with their stout masts and 
peculiar square sails, are ranged side by side on the 
sand, reminding us that Scheveningen is a fishing- 
village as well as a seaside resort. 

Look at those rows and rows of tents — pavilions 
they call them here, and those hundreds and hun- 
dreds of wicker chairs with high rounded backs, that 
dot the entire beach like mushrooms — wmdstoel is 
their name. Both 'pavilions and windstoels can be 
hired on the beach; and they are usually occupied 
all day long. Look, too, at the long row of bathing- 
machines : they are novel to American eyes, — a little 
wagon, something like a showman's, with a door and 
steps at the back and a sloping roof to which every 
now and then a horse is hitched and the wagon drawn 
into the water, where the bathers alight. Bathing 
begins at seven o'clock every morning and continues 
until sunset. There is a gentlemen's bathing-place, a 
ladies' bathing-place and a place where they bathe 
together. Tickets are bought on the beach and each 
number is called out when there is a vacancy in the 

121 



A Guide to Cities 

bathing-machine that carries the party down the 
sands to the edge of the breakers. 

On either side of Scheveningen stretch the Dunes, 
known as the East Dunes and the West Dunes, which 
to some persons are a source of never-failing delight, 
while others find them unspeakably dreary. 

The Dunes are hills of sand that have been formed 
by the fine grains of sand that are continually being 
blown in by the wind and form hills and hollows. 
On the sea side of the Dunes, special grass called 
helm is planted by the State to help bind the soil and 
prevent the shifting of the sands ; and when the sand 
begins to be a compact mass among the helm, tiny 
moss and plants soon cover the Dunes with a pe- 
culiar vegetation. Beautiful as this carpet is when 
seen from a distance, it is more beautiful when ex- 
amined closely. One who knows these flowers well 
tells us that " The first to appear are tiny spots and 
spores of moss, among and around which is fine grass, 
hardly higher than the pile of plush velvet. Among 
this are wild pansies and blue violets, so tiny that 
an elf of the court of Queen Mab might wear them 
in his buttonhole. A little scarlet-leaved creeper, 
with white blossoms and forget-me-not flowers of the 
brightest blue, but no larger than a pin's head, also 
grow thickly in the grass. Bushes dwindle to creep- 
ing-plants. A dwarf-willow runs over the sand, and 
blossoms with masses of green flowers, on which the 
bees work busily walking from flower to flower on 
the sand. The birch becomes subterranean, descend- 
ing onto and below the surface like a strawberry 

122 



The Hague 

runner and throwing out leaves from the ground." 
The Dunes have inspired many masterpieces of Dutch 
painting. 

Farther on, the sandhills grow larger, and the 
vegetation increases in size until copses of fir and 
pine appear. Rabbits, hares, partridges and other 
game-birds live here in great numbers; and in the 
autumn there is fine shooting in these regions, es- 
pecially in those that belong to Queen Wilhelmina. 



123 



THE CITY OF AMSTEKDAM 

THE VENICE OF THE NORTH 

THE train that takes the traveller from The 
Hague to Amsterdam passes through a very 
characteristic and picturesque country. It runs al- 
most parallel with, and not far from, the coast, pass- 
ing through Leyden and Haarlem and numerous lit- 
tle villages, and presents a constant succession of 
new and charming pictures to the fascinated eye. 

All this country is marvellously fertile. It is a 
sort of northern garden of Eden where fruit, flowers 
and vegetables grow in amazing abundance. Before 
our eyes pass fields of wheat, flax and other grains, 
alternating with kitchen-gardens, where squares de- 
voted to red and green cabbages alternate with 
squares upon squares planted with peas and beans. 
Orchards of fruit-trees then come into view; then 
acres upon acres of strawberries, tulips, hyacinths 
and roses; then miles of greenhouses, whose bright 
panes scintillating in the sunlight conceal splendid 
orchids and other exotic flowers from Bavaria and 
Guiana. The vast, spongy meadows, charming in 
their monotony of tender green, where ditches take 
the place of hedge-rows and shine like bands of sil- 
ver in the light, are thickly sprinkled with pretty 

124 



The City of Amsterdam 

white farm-houses, whose red roofs peep cheerfully 
beneath clumps of willows. Here, too, innumerable 
black and white cows bite the crisp blades of grass, 
or rest upon the thick turf, and here, too, windmills 
constantly come into the picture. 

Everything here shows the work of man's hand; 
for we are and have been for a long time running 
along the great Haarlemmer Polder, which was 
formed by drawing all the water off the Haarlemmer 
Meer, a sort of inland sea about seventy-two square 
miles which occupied nearly all the space between 
Amsterdam, Haarlem and Leyden. It is now, as we 
have seen, a richly cultivated plain, dotted with vil- 
lages and farms and containing a population of about 
16,000. 

In all countries man is kept busy tilling the soil; 
but in Holland the very soil has to be created first. 
Holland is a network of rivers and lakes ; and, as it 
lies very low without protecting rocks, the furious 
sea beats and lashes and gnaws into the sandy shores 
as if determined to join the great rivers and swallow 
up the entire country. If it were not for the won- 
derful skill the Dutch engineers possess, there would 
soon be no Holland whatever. As it is, there is a 
constant battle between the people and the sea. 
Dykes were constructed in Holland even before the 
days of the Romans, so that the great knowledge the 
Dutch have of hydraulics is a development of cen- 
turies. Sometimes, however, the sea has triumphed, 
as for example in 1421, when, during a frightful 
storm the dykes were burst at Biesbosch in South 

125 



A Guide to Cities 

Holland and seventy-two villages, with a hundred 
thousand persons, were engulfed. At this time, the 
Hollandisch Diep, an arm of the sea, was formed. 
Again in 1826, forty villages in North Holland were 
swept away and hundreds of persons perished, be- 
sides cattle and sheep. 

It was in the eighth century that the Dutch be- 
gan seriously to dyke their country ; but the troubles 
of the Middle Ages gave them too much fighting to 
do on land for them to battle with the ocean. In 
the fifteenth century all the dykes that had been 
made were destroyed. During the sixteenth and sev- 
enteenth century, the time of Holland's great pros- 
perity, her people began to reconquer their land 
from the sea. Everywhere dykes were made parallel 
with the rivers; polders were redeemed from the 
water ; and, on every side, windmills, that now form 
such a characteristic feature of the landscape, arose 
to drain the land. In 1480, the first polder was 
definitely conquered from the ocean in the island of 
Texel; in 1855 a lake near Alkmaar was pumped 
dry; but the greatest triumph of all was the drain- 
ing of the Haarlem Meer, in 1842-1853. 

The embankments vary in different places: some- 
times they are merely earthworks; sometimes they 
are strengthened with bricks or piles or both; and 
sometimes they are great works of stone or granite; 
while the sluice-gates, formerly of wood, are now 
colossal structures of stone which open and shut ac- 
cording to the current of the sea and defy the an- 
griest waves, 

126 



The City of Amsterdam 

" All the defensive works against the sea and rivers 
would not save Holland, if some way had not been 
discovered to get rid of the overflowing rivers and 
lakes and pools and peat-beds that had become lakes. 
Then it was that the Dutch began to drain the 
' polders/ the name they gave to the old marshes. 
An hydraulic wind-mill was put up in Alkmaar in 
1408, and was quickly imitated; and by the end of 
the fifteenth century the use of wind-mills to drain 
the Dutch polders had become universal. At this 
period they began to construct dykes through the 
lowlands, trenches to guide the water and sluice- 
gates to regulate its level. 

" Through this discovery, the internal state of the 
country was changed and agriculture could spring 
up. At the present day mills of all shapes and di- 
mensions stand in the middle of rich plains, whose 
superfluous waters they draw off: their busy wings 
in the distance blended together in a tranquil sky, 
and give the landscape a singular character. Some 
of these mills are true edifices, which seek the wind 
at a considerable height; others, smaller and built 
of wood or brick, are very prettily finished off. This 
rustic coquetry — these huge sails which flutter in 
the air like the wings of gigantic and fabulous birds ; 
this tick-tick blended with the sound of the waters, 
spread over the calm nature of Holland an in- 
definable charm and movement. Elsewhere, mills, 
those monuments of a pastoral life, are only employed 
in one way; but here, on the contrary, they are hy- 
draulic machines, saw and flour-grinding mills. You 

127 



A Guide to Cities 

see some polders served by a single small mill, while 
several large mills are employed in draining others. 
Formerly, efforts were limited to draining ground of 
no great depth ; but since science has progressed, the 
wind is called upon to exhaust even deep marshes. 
When you now see this land, fabricated and kept up 
by the hand of man, covered in summer with rich 
pasturage, fruit and vegetables, and frequently abun- 
dant crops, you cannot sufficiently admire the con- 
dition of the art which has converted land buried be- 
neath the waters into a garden." * 

Amsterdam, which lies on an arm of the Zuyder 
Zee called the Y (pronounced eye), is built in the 
form of a semicircle ; or, perhaps, we had better say 
it has grown in a series of semicircular canals 
called gracilis facing the Y. The chief of these are 
Heerengraclity KeizersgracM and Prinsengracht. 
From the last-named and wide canal, short streets 
and narrow canals run at right angles towards the 
SingelgracM, the outer girdle of the town which was 
in former days the moat around the ramparts and 
which now forms a natural boundary between old 
Amsterdam and the new quarter of the town. 

The Dutch engineers have altered the Harbor to 
suit the needs of the present day since the North Sea 
Canal that gave Amsterdam direct communication 
with the ocean was made. They have made large 
docks and quays, and built artificial islands in the 
Y. All this water front presents an attractive ap- 
pearance; here are docked the American liners and 
* Alphonse Esquiros. 
128 



The City of Amsterdam 

East India ships; here the steamers arrive and de- 
part for various Dutch ports and to Bristol, Hull, 
Liverpool, London, Batavia, New York and the West 
Indies; and here several times a day the small ex- 
cursion boats arrive and depart for Alkmaar, Zaan- 
dam and other places on the Zaan, to Ymuiden on 
the North Sea; and to Maarken and other points 
in the Zuider Zee. Last, but by no means least in 
interest, many canal boats load and unload at this 
spot. 

Amsterdam is entirely indebted to man for her 
existence. There is not an inch of her ground that 
is not made. The ninety islands on which the city 
is built are bound together and artificially consoli- 
dated by bundles of stout, long piles, and every build- 
ing rests on a solid foundation of piles. For the 
Koyal Palace on the Dam, no less than 13,659 piles 
were required. 

The fact that Amsterdam is built on islands and 
canals has given the city the sobriquet of the " Venice 
of the North. " Altogether, there are more than fifty 
canals, which are bordered with trees and crossed by 
bridges. On the east and west of the city, marshy 
lands have been converted into parks and polders ; 
while the new quarter, containing the Ryhs and 
Stedelyh Museums and many fine residential streets, 
has been for many years pushing itself southwards 
far beyond the Singelgracht. 

Railways run along the dykes on the east and north 
to serve the docks and basins that line the Y; and 
an enormous dyke of granite with powerful sluices 

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A Guide to Cities 

and immense gates, bars the entrance of the Y at 
Schellingwoude, in order to protect the great North 
Sea Canal from the Zuider Zee. The middle of this 
dyke is broken with openings for the passage of ves- 
sels entering or departing from Amsterdam; and 
here are sluices for regulating the amount of water 
in the canal. The North Sea Canal, which has re- 
stored so much of Amsterdam's old prosperity, be- 
gins at Schellingwoude and cuts through the coun- 
try in a straight line to the North Sea, — a distance 
of about fifteen miles. At this end, the Canal is 
protected by two enormous breakwaters, three-quar- 
ters of a mile long, and two enormous locks, near one 
of which is the comparatively new town of Ymuiden, 
to which steamboats run several times a day from 
Amsterdam through the canal. This canal was 
formed by draining the shallow basin of the Y into 
this long ditch; but enough water is left at Amster- 
dam to form three large basins, or ports, that are 
able to accommodate a thousand large ships. The 
canal cost forty million florins. 

On a small promontory directly opposite the Cen- 
tral Railway Station where the old Tolhuis, or cus- 
tom-house, is situated, are the gigantic gates, called 
the Willeias-Sluis, that bar the entrance to the North 
Holland Canal, which, constructed in 1819-1825, 
extends all the way from Amsterdam to Helder, a 
distance of fifty miles. 

Another large canal — the Merwede Canal — con- 
nects Amsterdam with Utrecht. 

You will therefore see that by opening the sluice- 
130 



The City of Amsterdam 

gates the surrounding country could be completely 
flooded at need ; and that just as Antwerp guards all 
Belguim, Amsterdam still remains the central fort- 
ress, — the redoubt of Holland. 

The early history of Amsterdam is enveloped in 
darkness. All we know about its origin is that in 
1200, during the reign of Thierry VII., Count of 
Holland, a dyke or dam was made at the union of 
the river Amstel and an arm of the Zuider Zee. 
Tradition says that some fishermen and a dog were 
thrown on the shore here and finding such abundant 
rewards for their nets, built a little settlement and 
placed in its midst a chapel consecrated to St. Olaf, 
patron saint of Norway. Be this as it may, at any 
rate the Frisians, who had flourishing maritime 
towns in the eighth and ninth centuries, for some 
reason emigrated in crowds to the southern coasts 
of Holland where the sea was more open and the 
country more protected. 

At the beginning of the twelfth century, Amster- 
dam was nothing more than a fishing-village, in the 
middle of which the first known lord, Gysbrecht or 
Gilbert, had a fortified castle, which he called Amstel 
Vesten. His successor, Gysbrecht, added some tow- 
ers and bridges, and made a town of the settle- 
ment. The oldest document in which the name Am- 
sterdam appears is a charter of 1275 given by Count 
Floris V. granting trading rights. In 1296, owing 
to the unfortunate murder of the Count of Holland, 
the little town was confiscated by William III. and 
joined to his own territory in order to punish Gys- 

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A Guide to Cities 

breclit Van Amstel for his complicity in the murder 
of Count Floris. William IV. gave it a municipal 
constitution in 1340, and permitted the inhabitants 
to enlarge their town. In 1380, they began to sur- 
round it with a wooden palisade, which in the course 
of two years was replaced by a brick wall. The 
boundaries were enlarged in 1400, 1462, 1593, 1612, 
and 1658^ in which last named year it was twenty 
times larger than it was in 1300. 

More than half destroyed by a fire in the middle 
of the fifteenth century, she recovered from this 
disaster, surrounded herself with ramparts and tow- 
ers and constantly increased in importance. She had 
joined the Hanseatic League (see page 164) as early 
as 1369 and had become the most influential city in 
the Netherlands, possessing a great portion of the 
trade of the Baltic. Her seal consisted of a ship, 
which held two men and a dog, in allusion to the 
story of her foundation and symbolic of valor and 
vigilance. 

In 1512, the inhabitants of Guelderland surprised 
Amsterdam. They numbered about two thousand, 
and after burning the suburbs and the twenty-two 
ships in the harbor, withdrew laden with booty. 

In 1525, the Anabaptists, led by the famous John 
of Leyden, tried to capture Amsterdam. Six hun- 
dred of them entered the town at night and attacked 
the Town-hall. The citizens tried to barricade the 
streets around the Dam with sacks of flour and bags 
of hops, but when dawn showed them that their ene- 
mies were fewer than they had feared, they forced 

132 



The City of Amsterdam 

the Anabaptists into the Town-hall and massacred 
them. 

Ten years later, these fanatics returned, after hav- 
ing ravaged Flanders, Holland and Friesland, and 
entered the city with the most frightful cries, men- 
acing the Eoman Catholics with the vengeance of 
Heaven if they did not abjure their faith; but the 
inhabitants pursued them vigorously and those that 
were taken perished by the sword, fire, water and 
rope. 

Under the Spanish rule and during the period 
that Holland was struggling for her independence, 
Amsterdam was the one town of this country that 
from 1572 to 1578 sided with Spain and opposed the 
Reformation. All the attempts of the Prince of 
Orange to win Amsterdam were futile ; and, notwith- 
standing the Peace of Ghent in 1576, the civil au- 
thorities repulsed Protestantism with the greatest 
vigor. On Jan. 15, 1576, however, an arrangement 
was made called the Satisfaction of Amsterdam, in 
which the nominal supremacy of the Roman Cath-. 
olic Church was recognized and also tolerance for 
the reformed religion. 

But notwithstanding the rapid progress of Prot- 
estantism the magistrates, who were all Roman Cath- 
olics, resisted the movement; and a municipal revo- 
lution had to take place before they yielded. On 
May 28, 1578, they returned to the town with a 
number of priests and senators ; and, since that date, 
Amsterdam, having been completely won over to the 
Protestant cause, took part in the general politics of 

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A Guide to Cities 

Holland. About this time also the population began 
to increase; and from 1585 to 1595 the territory 
doubled. However, in 1602, the plague carried off 
60,000 inhabitants in a few months. 

Antwerp having fallen under Spanish rule was for- 
saken by many of her best citizens, many of whom, 
including numbers of merchants, left it to establish 
themselves in Amsterdam which, by 1622, numbered 
about 100,000 inhabitants. But above all else what 
contributed to Amsterdam's commercial prosperity 
was the closing of the Scheldt, stipulated for in the 
Treaty of Minister in 1648, which was Antwerp's 
ruin, and her rival's great opportunity. 

At this period Amsterdam also benefited by the 
influx of a great number of Portuguese Jews, who 
brought with them the art of diamond-cutting and 
polishing, which became one of the city's great 
sources of wealth. In fact, Amsterdam became a 
Paradise of Jews. At a later period, the city also 
benefited by the advent of the Huguenot refugees 
from Prance. 

Jealous rivals on several occasions attempted to 
take Amsterdam, among them the Earl of Leicester, 
who planned a surprise which was anticipated. 
Amsterdam's worst troubles occurred, however, in 
the second half of the seventeenth century, a period 
of wars. William II., Prince of Orange, who re- 
garded this city as an enemy to his house, attempted 
an attack, and his troops marched rapidly and 
secretly to Amsterdam. However, the city was pre- 
pared : the dykes were opened and the Count of Nas- 

134 



The City of Amsterdam 

sau, who led the expedition, was forced to retire. 
William II., however, took the management of 
affairs away from the magistrates who were at 
enmity with him. Many companies of soldiers, con- 
sisting of from twenty to fifty-four men, were 
formed. 

In 1672, Amsterdam checked the victorious ad- 
vance of Louis XIV. 's army by opening the dykes 
and flooding the country ; and at the negotiations for 
peace Amsterdam protested against the hard terms 
imposed by Louis XIV. and consented to recognize 
William III. as Stadhouder. A few years later, 
Amsterdam turned to great advantage Louis XIV. 's 
mistake in persecuting his Protestant subjects; and 
issued an edict in 1681 guaranteeing to all who 
wished to emigrate the right of citizenship and spe- 
cial facilities for the making and disposing of their 
wares. The city also built a thousand houses for 
them to dwell in and after the Revocation of the 
Edict of Nantes (1685) artisans and merchants 
flocked to Amsterdam in great numbers. 

Amsterdam's patriotic resolution to defy Louis 
XIV. was detrimental to her commercial interests, 
and involved her in the war until 1712. 

Amsterdam's prosperity declined in the eight- 
eenth century especially during the war with Eng- 
land in 1780-1784. In 1787, the Prussian army 
that re-established William V. as Stadhouder entered 
Amsterdam without any difficulty and the city capit- 
ulated. In 1795, the French Eepublicans led by 
Dutch Exiles took possession of the country and 

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A Guide to Cities 

founded the Batavian Republic with Schimmel- 
penninck as president with the old title of Grand 
Pensionary. The French army entered on Jan. 19, 
of that year led by Pichegru ; and, owing to the fact 
that the dykes were frozen, there was no way of 
opposing his forces. A liberty pole was set up in 
front of St. Antonieswaag in the Nieuwe MarM, and 
crowds flocked to the Dam and lined the windows 
of the public buildings and private houses to see the 
French army enter the city. The Batavian Republic 
did not, however, last very long, for Louis Napoleon 
was made King of Holland in 1806. The latter im- 
mediately removed the seat of government to Am- 
sterdam, which therefore became the capital of the 
new kingdom. The populace, however, refused to 
allow him to govern absolutely and attacked one of 
the servants of the French establishment, whereupon 
Napoleon ordered Marshal Oudinot to take posses- 
sion of the city. The French entered on July 3, 
1810, and on July 19, Holland being united to 
France, Amsterdam was made the third city of the 
Empire, ranking next to Rome and Paris. On July, 
14, 1810, Lebrun held a sort of court there as gov- 
ernor. Napoleon passed through Amsterdam in Oc- 
tober, 1811; but was coldly welcomed by his brother 
subjects. 

" The picture of the emperor crouching at the bot- 
tom of his carriage, his great head dropped between 
his shoulders, with lowering brow, pallid face and 
watchful eyes passing rapidly through a sullen and 
silent crowd, is that of the foreign tyrant, who, in 

136 



The, City of Amsterdam 

spite of all his armies and all his fame, is made to 
feel the hatred of a people he has tied like a captive 
horde to his conquering car. That moment marked 
the lowest point in the fall of Amsterdam. The veri- 
est dolt on the Dam must have felt that Amsterdam 
was in chains. 

" And now the iron entered her soul ; regiments 
from all the armies in Europe marched through her 
streets, and were quartered on her people, who for 
some years lived in an atmosphere of constant fear 
and anxiety. Now it was the French who were the 
masters, now the Orange party, now the Allies. If 
the French, then there were spies during the day and 
sudden arrests in the dead of the night; if the na- 
tional party, no one dared appear without an Orange 
rosette; if the Allies, then possibly a red-eyed Cos- 
sack sat in the house and called loudly for snaps. 
Every morning there was the clatter of cavalry exer- 
cising their horses up and down the streets, or the 
noise of the infantry going through the drill. Every 
evening the tambour was beaten in all the quarters 
of the town. And the worst was that all these sol- 
diers were foreign, and represented the fact that the 
liberties of Amsterdam were no longer their own, but 
depended upon whosoever came forth victorious in 
the struggle. 

" Every great change in Europe vibrated through 
the homes of Amsterdam. When the Empire began 
to fall the French inhabitants left the city in droves, 
the houses of those who sympathized with them were 
sacked and the prisons forced open. Several pitiable 

137 



A Guide to Cities 

objects were brought forth from the prisons under 
the Amstel-sluis. 

" The 18th of June, 1815, was a day of great ex- 
citement in Amsterdam. The news of the various 
changes at Waterloo were signalled across the Neth- 
erlands from steeple to steeple. The signal in Am- 
sterdam was constantly changing according to the 
fortunes of the day, and when at last the Dutch flag 
remained flying, the people wrung each other's hands, 
crying with delight f Oranje boven! Oranje boven!' 

" The historical family, the only symbol Holland 
possesses of national unity, returned; and Amster- 
dam entered on its third and present phase, that of 
being simply the largest city in the Kingdom of Hol- 
land." * 

Lebrun retired to Utrecht; and William I., King of 
Holland and Prince of Orange, entered Amsterdam. 

Its trade was much affected by the Continental 
blockade ; but after peace was restored and the House 
of Orange enjoyed its own again, its prosperity was 
assured. In 1814, the Bank of the Netherlands, 
modelled on the Bank of England, was established. 

Since the opening of the North Sea Canal Amster- 
dam has recovered her old commercial supremacy. 

The formation of the East India Company and 
the West India Company made Amsterdam the 
greatest mercantile city in Europe in the seventeenth 
century, and nothing seemed to affect her prosperity. 

" In 1602 the Dutch East India Company was 
formed. Amboyna and the Moluccas were wrested 

* Richard Heath. 
138 



The City of Amsterdam 

from the Spaniards, and in a short time the Dutch 
had factories and fortifications from the Tigris in 
the Persian Gulf along the coasts and islands of 
India as far as Japan. Alliances were formed with 
several Indian princes on the coast of Ceylon, and 
they were themselves masters in various districts of 
Malabar and Coromandel, and of great part of the 
island of Java. The West India Company was 
established in 1621. In fifteen years the Dutch had 
conquered the greater part of Brazil and had fitted 
out eight hundred trading and war ships at the ex- 
pense of ninety millions of florins, which immense 
outlay they had recouped by the capture of five hun- 
dred and forty-five Spanish and Portuguese ships. 

" Speculative trade, it has been said, almost seems 
to have been born at Amsterdam. Let the scarcity 
of grain be what it might in any of the four quarters 
of the globe, men could always find plenty in Amster- 
dam; whatever their wants they could always sup- 
ply them in Amsterdam. Its streets were like a 
perpetual fair. 

" An Italian describes the city in 1618 as the very 
image of Venice in its prime. It spread out fan- 
shaped, its base line on the Y being a long series of 
quays and docks, backed by tall warehouses of which 
little could be seen but an occasional gable roof, so 
hidden were they by groves of masts (which towards 
the centre thickened into a forest), by large sails and 
a complete jungle of huge cranes and drawbridges. 
High above the city rose numerous quaint steeples 
and yet more ancient towers, and Amsterdam's Ital- 

139 



A Guide to Cities 

ian prototype could never have presented a more 
bewitching picture than when on one of those mar- 
vellous nights, not infrequent in Holland, the moon 
lit up the scene with a light, whiter, purer than that 
of electricity, and of a living beauty the very reverse 
of electricity's ghastly glare. The black hulls, masts, 
rigging and cordage stood out vividly as in a photo- 
graph; the beacons cast their ruddy glare into the 
waters, and at midnight the carillon floated over the 
city, followed by the striking of innumerable clocks. 

" Morning broke, and with the dawn began another 
day's whirl and fret of business. Men, women and 
children — of all lands, nations and tongues — were in 
full activity. The shipwrights' hammers, the creak- 
ing of the cranes, the seamen's oaths, the squabbles of 
the market-place, the gabbling in the schools, the 
clatter of the sleighs, the chaffering, badgering, bully- 
ing, the slave-driving going on without a moment's 
cessation upon all the quays, in every warehouse and 
from every street, proclaimed Amsterdam the mart 
of the world, the centre of its business. 

" The head of the Damrak, a short roadstead 
formed by the mouth of the Amstel, was crossed by 
a bridge which recalled the Bialto. Here a crowd 
of men, the most varied in nationality and tradition, 
were all one in their worship of the presiding genius 
of the city. The bridge stood in front of its temple. 
The Exchange was the true centre of the religion of 
Amsterdam. Hard by were the representatives of the 
two subsidiary forces in the life of the city — politics 
and Calvinistic Christianity. 

140 



The City of Amsterdam 

" The Stadthuis, an enormous structure of which 
the forest of piles necessary for its foundation had 
cost £100,000 sterling, possessed an interior almost 
encased in marble — floors, walls, pillars and ceilings. 
Versailles cost £800,000, the Escurial £1,000,000, 
St. PauFs £1,500,000; but the burgher government 
of Amsterdam spent £3,000,000 on the shrine of 
their politics, making it the fit emblem of their pol- 
icy — hard, superficial and stupidly wasteful. In its 
vaults were the treasures of their famous bank, to all 
appearance an infinite hoard of wealth. 

" The treasure-house of Europe, it was the reser- 
voir into which fell the many golden streams which 
came pouring in from every quarter of the globe. 

" This wealth gave an enormous impetus to such 
arts as the traditions and peculiar temperament of 
the Hollanders most encouraged. Profoundly re- 
ligious, the soul of the Netherlands people had from 
very early times found expression in poetry and 
painting. Amsterdam was the centre of literary life 
before the war, its inhabitants cultivating their poetic 
gifts in their famous Guild of the Eglantine. After 
the fall of Antwerp, its Guilds of the Sweet-brier 
and the Fig-Tree emigrated to the northern city." * 

Being the headquarters of the large shipping com- 
panies and the great mart for the colonial exports 
from the Dutch colonies, it was only natural that 
Amsterdam should become the great money-market 
of the Netherlands. The famous Bank of Amster- 
dam opened in 1609 — the same year that Henry 
* Richard Heath. 
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A Guide to Cities 

Hudson, sent out by the West India Company from 
Amsterdam, discovered the Island of Manhattan — 
was not closed until 1796. Her Exchange was fa- 
mous throughout Europe. 

In the first years of the Seventeenth Century the 
merchants of Amsterdam met every day in good 
weather on the large bridge, and in rain or snow in 
the Oude Kerh y where they were called together by 
the sound of the organ; but in 1613 they had their 
new Exchange. This was a handsome building with 
a court, arcades and galleries, half of it sheltered and 
half of it open to the sun and air, and similar in ap- 
pearance to the famous Exchange in Antwerp, that is 
still standing. You can see it in the celebrated pict- 
ure of the Dam by Berck-Heyde in the Kyks 
Museum. 

Towards the close of the century, a kind of Ex- 
change was held in the Dam, in front of what is now 
the Palace, from ten o'clock till noon. At twelve 
o'clock, the real Bourse opened and remained so for 
two hours. 

In the " Venice of the North " the greater num- 
ber of the streets are water streets running alongside 
of the canals that are bordered by tall trees and 
paved with very rough cobble stones. There are as 
a rule no sidewalks and the houses are placed upon 
the pavement that extends to the coping of the canals. 
Carriages, wagons, pedestrians and stray dogs all 
mingle in the street. The canals are crossed by 
bridges, which are more or less ornate; and some- 
times people ferry themselves across in little boats. 

142 



The City of Amsterdam 

The houses are, as a rule, built of brown or black 
bricks, very heavily seamed with white mortar and 
heavily ornamented with white cornices and sills for 
the windows. Heavy white cornices also adorn the 
roofs, which generally terminate in a pointed gable, 
or are " crow stepped." All lean slightly forward 
and are supplied with a crane for hoisting goods to 
the top windows. The canals average three feet in 
depth. Some of them are narrow, but others are 
quite wide. The Heerengracht and Keizersgracht, 
which are a hundred and fifty feet wide, are bor- 
dered on either side with rows of luxuriant elms. 
These two canals have always been the centres of 
wealth and fashion and still flow with pride in front 
of old mansions that hint of Amsterdam's glorious 
days of the Seventeenth Century. 

As you leave the more crowded streets and canals 
of the old city, pretty villas with gardens sloping to 
the water's edge become frequent. Those on the 
Singelgracht are especially homelike and attractive. 
Beyond the Singelgracht is the new quarter of the 
town, where the streets bear the names of famous 
painters, such as Paulus Potter, Hobbema, Jacob 
Van Kampen, Quellin, Gerard Dow, Albert Cuyp, 
and Jan Steen. Canals are less frequent and the 
houses more modern in appearance and consist 
largely of apartments. 

It is hard to realize how much use people in Am- 
sterdam make of the boat. It takes the place of the 
cart or wagon. The gardener brings his fruits, flow- 
ers and vegetables to market by boat; the dairyman 

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A Guide to Cities 

his cheeses, and the farmer his milk, in great oak 
buckets with copper hoops and handles. On quarter 
days, when people move, the furniture is carried 
down the canals from the old to the new dwelling by 
boats; and last, but not least, there are boats espe- 
cially employed for passenger-service. These are 
called trekschuyten and are about thirty feet long. 
A sort of long wooden house runs nearly the whole 
length of the flat keel, and is usually painted green. 
The roof is flat and covered with a layer of pounded 
shells. The windows, four or six on a side, have little 
panes and are generally hung with red or white cur- 
tains. Sometimes a pot of bright flowers stands on 
the sill. The house is divided into two compart- 
ments, or cabins, which are comfortably furnished. 
The rest of the space is filled with bales, boxes and 
barrels, and the poop is given up to the travellers and 
helmsman. In front of the boat is the mast which is 
lowered at every bridge and to which a rope is fast- 
ened. The other end of the rope is tied to a horse 
that walks along the canal pulling the boat. When 
the trekschuyt arrives at a town, the rider dismounts 
and unfastens the horse ; the boatman then, by means 
of a long pole, pushes his boat through the crowded 
mass of craft to the dock he requires. Some of these 
boats are painted a bright blue and are ornamented 
with stripes or bands of red and all have a very 
domestic air, for the people are often seen at the win- 
dows and on the roof, smoking, drinking tea, washing 
dishes, or drying clothes, while the trekschuyt is lying 
at the dock. The Dutch love color and paint their 

144 



The City of Amsterdam 

boats as they do their windmills, in very bright col- 
ors, which have a very cheerful effect as they pass 
through the green meadows beneath the ever-chang- 
ing sky ; and their reflections throw lovely hues upon 
the tranquil waters. The sail-boats are also brightly 
painted and carry large triangular red sails that the 
sun and rain and winds have turned into a beautiful 
shade of terra-cotta. Instead of a centre board, they 
are supplied with a sort of movable paddle on each 
side like a fish's fin, and when one of these Flying 
Dutchmen comes skimming over the Zaan or Zuider 
Zee or down the North Sea Canal with her sail belly- 
ing in a stiff breeze and her sharp prow cleaving 
the water, she is a very curious and pretty sight. 

Little barges piled high with barrels, or cheeses, 
or bales poled by one man are often moored in front 
of the warehouses where workmen in blue blouses are 
busy unloading or loading them; and wherever you 
go, you see masts and sails appearing in the most 
unexpected manner behind the bridges, in front of 
the houses and along the streets, in the very heart of 
the city. 

Another characteristic sight in the streets of Am- 
sterdam is the cart drawn by one, two or three dogs 
and laden with milk-cans or piled high with vege- 
tables and flowers. By its side walk peasant women 
in their quaint costume. Soldiers are much in evi- 
dence; and you also see women wearing the curious 
metal helmet headdress; Lutheran preachers in their 
black knee trousers, long-tailed coats, shovel hats 
and low shoes; and young peasant women in short 

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A Guide to Cities 

striped skirts, low-necked black bodices, white bead- 
dresses, and coral necklaces. The latter are strik- 
ingly healthful and ruddy of complexion and their 
bare red arms are amazing. It is noticeable how the 
streets fill as the afternoon fades into twilight. Then 
the shops become illuminated and the cafes fill. 
People sit rows deep in the broad windows of the 
large cafes, particularly on Kalver Straat — Amster- 
dam's Fifth Avenue and Regent Street — to watch 
the endless procession that moves both up and down 
the sidewalks and the centre of the street, from 
which vehicles are prohibited at night. Innumer- 
able little cafes spring up on the street behind green 
arbors, containing perhaps only half a dozen little 
tables, where family parties of men, women and 
children sit drinking sweet syrups, smoking and en- 
joying the passing show. 

The two principal thoroughfares are Damrah 
Straat and Kalver Straat, both of which lead into 
the Dam, the large square, which is the centre of 
business life. On our way up Damrak Straat from 
the Central Railway Station, we pass the New Ex- 
change (Neue Beurs). This also faces Warmoes 
Straat, where rises the Oude Kerk whose jangling 
chimes we constantly hear and whose splendid old 
Gothic tower dominates every distant view of Am- 
sterdam. It was erected about 1300 and has a 
wooden vaulted roof supported by forty-two slender 
pillars. There are some beautiful stained-glass win- 
dows, particularly those depicting the life of the Vir- 
gin, dating from 1555, the work of Pieter Aertsen, 

146 



The City of Amsterdam 

a Dutch artist who was familiarly called " Long Pe- 
ter." The Oude Kerk contains monuments to some 
of Holland's naval heroes, including one to Admiral 
Van Heemskerk who fell at the Battle of Gibraltar 
in 1607 and to other Dutch celebrities. Behind the 
choir, Philip II. signed the Treaty of Miinster, by 
which he recognized the independence of the United 
Provinces and renounced all rights in them. 

As we walk along Warmoes Straat, which will 
lead us to the Dam, we notice shops that sell food 
of all kinds as well as clothing, and many hotels, res- 
taurants and cafes. Among the latter is the cele- 
brated Cafe Krasnapolsky, one of the largest in Eu- 
rope. Streams of people are always passing in and 
out. Flowers, mirrors and electric lights render the 
rooms pleasant and attractive. Billiard-rooms and 
a fine conservatory contribute their pleasures. 

We now reach the Dam, where the principal 
streets converge and where all the tram cars circle 
around the tall monument surmounted by a figure of 
Concordia, erected in 1856, to commemorate the 
events of 1830-31. The buildings group well here. 
The most important are the Nieuwe Kerk and the 
Royal Palace. 

The Nieuwe Kerk, which is only called new be- 
cause it is a hundred years younger than the Oude 
Kerk, is one of the most important churches in Hol- 
land, and was built in 1408. It is a Gothic edifice 
with side chapels, and its western tower, begun in 
1565, is still unfinished. 

The Nieuwe Kerk suffered from fire in 1421, 1578 
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A Guide to Cities 

and 1645, but it has been well restored. It is more 
interesting within than without, for the nave is cov- 
ered with a vaulted wooden ceiling; some fine old 
windows represent the siege of Leyden in 1573-74; 
and there is a beautifully carved pulpit of 1649 by 
Vinckenbrinck. The Nieuwe Kerk contains many 
monuments to Holland's great admirals and generals, 
including one to Admiral de Ruyter, who was 
buried there in 1676. 

Amsterdam, like every other city in the Low Coun- 
tries, had to have a fine Town-hall in the days of 
her great prosperity. Jacob van Campen, who built 
the Mauritshuis and the House in the Wood (see 
page 107), was the architect and the building was 
begun in 1648. It was completed in 1655 and cost 
the extraordinary sum of eight million florins 
($3,200,000). The massive building is 264 feet 
long, 207 feet wide and 108 feet high and stands on 
a foundation of 13,659 piles. Reliefs by Artus 
Quellin adorn the gables, the subjects of which are 
allegorical allusions to the glories of Amsterdam. 
The cupola, surmounting the roof, is crowned by a 
lantern, which is topped by a weather-vane in the 
shape of a merchantman, suggested by the crest in 
the city's coat of arms. The cupola contains a chime 
of bells and offers to those who care to make the 
rather difficult climb a very extensive and charming 
view. 

The walls of the entrance are lined with white 
marble and all the apartments are ornamented with 
sculpture in marble by Artus Quellin and his pupils, 

148 



The City of Amsterdam 

finely carved mantel-pieces and fine ceiling paint- 
ings. The large Eeception Koom is one of the finest 
in the world. It is 117 feet long, 57 feet broad and 
100 feet high. The walls are lined from floor to 
ceiling with white Italian marble, and the marble 
floor is wonderfully inlaid with copper stars repre- 
senting a planisphere. This is so precious a work of 
its kind that it is always kept covered by a fine 
Deventer carpet. This is a splendid specimen of the 
weaver's art, and few realize what lies beneath it. 
When Louis Napoleon became King of Holland and 
made Amsterdam his capital, the City presented the 
Town-hall to him for a residence, since when it has 
remained the Eoyal Palace (Het Paleis). Some of 
the rooms were slightly altered at the time and newly 
decorated in the Empire style. These furnishings 
still remain. The Yellow Tea Eoom, the Small 
Dining Room, the Large Dining Room (originally 
the South Gallery), the Queen's Room, and the 
Throne Room are all shown to the public and con- 
tain splendid chimney-pieces and pictures by such 
famous artists as Govaert Flinck, Ferdinand Bol 
and Jan Lievens. 

When the Town-hall became the Palace, the old 
Court of Admiralty in the Oudezyds-V oorburgwal 
was made the Stadhuis. 

The old Exchange stood on the Dam, and its suc- 
cessor on the old site, built in 1845, was the money- 
market until the New Exchange was completed in 
recent years. 

Before the great east and west docks (Ooster Doh 
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A Guide to Cities 

and Wester Doh) were built, ships were docked on 
the quay called Prins-Hendrik-Eade (formerly the 
Buitenkant), which so often figures in the pictures 
of old Amsterdam. A little quiet stroll along this 
street will repay the traveller, because there are some 
peculiar old warehouses and dwelling-houses still 
standing. Among the latter (No. 131), is the home 
of the great Admiral de Kuyter, whose portrait ap- 
pears on the gable. 

Beyond this quay, facing the Open Haven, stands 
a quaint low tower that was built in 1482. It re- 
ceived the name Schreyerstoren (Criers' or Weepers' 
Tower) because the friends and relatives of sea-goers 
used to wave their tearful farewells from it. 

The neighboring church with a dome and two tow- 
ers is the Roman Catholic St. Nicholas, which, 
though modern, adds much to the picturesque view 
of Amsterdam when the city is approached from 
the Y. 

On a very wide canal, leading from the Prins- 
Hendrik-Kade, and called the Oude Schans, there 
stands another typical Dutch tower, called the 
Montalbaans. Nothing is known about it except that 
it is very old. 

The Geldersche-Eade runs in a straight line from 
the Schreyerstoren to the Nieuwe Markt, Amster- 
dam's great fish market, where we find a very inter- 
esting relic of the Middle Ages, — the old town gate 
of St. Anthony (St. Anthonieswaag), built in 1488- 
1585, and which with its conical turrets reminds us 
of the days of chivalry and legend. This was long 

150 



The City of Amsterdam 

ago converted into a weigh-house and also used by 
various guilds of the town. The archives of the city 
are kept here. 

From the Meuwe Markt, the Klov enter s-Burg- 
wal flows into the Binnen-Amstel and a little street, 
called Doelen-Straat, runs to the bridge that leads to 
Sophia-Plein, on which stands the old Mint Tower. 
On the way, we pass the Trippenhuis, an interesting 
old house built in 1662. In it the gallery of pictures 
was preserved before the Ryks Museum was built. 

Between the Oude Schans and the Nieuwe Heer- 
engracht lies the thickly populated Jewish Quarter, 
where the children of Israel have dwelt for hundreds 
of years. It is more picturesque than sanitary. The 
streets and canals are narrow and winding; and the 
houses are tall and rise directly out of the water, with 
small windows from which hang strings of garments 
of all sizes, hues and shapes and rags of all varieties. 
Occasionally a window sill is brightened with a pot 
of blooming flowers and a bird in a wicker basket 
or wire cage hangs mournfully above the sluggish 
water. Children and dogs play on the door sills just 
above the water, and men and women enliven the 
streets as they walk up and down carrying old 
clothes, fish, and other foods. 

Among several synagogues there are two that are 
specially famous — the big one in the Muiderstraat, 
built in 1670, said to be in imitation of Solomon's 
Temple, and the Aaron's and Moses's Church. Those 
who are curious to see where Rembrandt resided 
from 1640 to 1656 will find his house marked with 

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A Guide to Cities 

a tablet near the bridge on Jodenbree Straat. The 
Jewish Cemetery is also in this quarter and is de- 
scribed as " a dreary Golgotha of a place with the sea 
wind soughing in the branches of the trees and the 
grass overgrown and rank. The grey mouldering 
tombstones lean this way and that, for the ceaseless 
wash of the waves beneath is always lessening their 
hold on the earth." 

Diamond-mills can be visited in Zwanenburger- 
Straat, for this city is still an important market for 
gems. 

Amsterdam was nearly as famous for the books 
that were published there as for her diamond-polish- 
ing. The celebrated family of printers, the Elzevirs, 
famous for the beautiful editions they brought out, 
established a house in Amsterdam in 1638. In this 
city were also published many books that were pro- 
hibited in France. 

Amsterdam, too, was a great Mecca for the painters 
of the Low Countries. It was Eembrandt's home for 
many years. Here he painted all of his greatest 
works ; and here also lived Thomas De Keyser, Fer- 
dinand Bol, Paul Potter and Bartholomew van der 
Heist among others of note. The wealthy merchants 
and burgomasters were liberal patrons of art. 

The gallery of Baron J. P. Six in the Heeren- 
gracht, to which visitors are admitted, is one of the 
finest private galleries in Europe. It includes pict- 
ures and family portraits by Eembrandt, Jan 
Lievens, Govaert Flinck, Gerard Dow, Nicholas 
Maes, Paul Potter, Jan Van Huysum, Hobbema, 

152 



The City of Amsterdam 

Ruisdael, Rachel Ruysch, Hondecoeter and other 
masters that were owned by Jan Six, who was burgo- 
master of Amsterdam from 1691 till 1702. The por- 
trait of the latter, painted by Rembrandt in 1656, is 
one of his most admired productions, and represents 
the subject dressed in a red cloak with gold embroid- 
ery and a large black hat. His expression is rather 
meditative, while he is pulling on his left glove in the 
most natural manner. 

Everybody in the seventeenth century in Amster- 
dam had his or her portrait painted ; and portraiture 
in groups was a branch of art that was specially 
practiced. Companies of soldiers, members of civic 
guards, guilds of merchants, and regents and direct- 
ors of various medical and charitable societies were 
in the habit of clubbing together and having them- 
selves painted by some artist of note to hang upon 
the walls of their shooting-galleries, guard-houses 
(doelen), hospitals, lecture-rooms or guild-halls. 
These works are known as " Regent," " Doelen," 
and " Corporation " pictures. 

Rembrandt, Bartholomew Van der Heist, Frans 
Hals, Ferdinand Bol and Karel Dujardin, brought 
this class of portrait-painting to the pitch of artistic 
perfection. Rembrandt achieved his first great fame 
with the " Lesson in Anatomy " (see page 108), or- 
dered by the great Amsterdam surgeon, Dr. Tulp, for 
the Amsterdam Guild of Surgeons ; and several years 
later he painted the more famous " Night Watch," 
for the Arquebusiers Shooting Company, and " The 
Syndics," for the Guild of Clothmakers. 

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A Guide to Cities 

Both of these pictures are in the Ryks Museum, 
which we will now visit. The tram at the Dam, 
which will take us there in a short time, crosses the 
big canals that girdle the city. We alight at the 
boundary of the old and the new Amsterdam; and, 
walking a short distance along the Stadhouders- 
Kade, are confronted by a majestic building of red 
brick with granite trimmings, surmounted by two 
towers and a central gable. This, the great National 
Museum of Holland, had its beginnings in 1798, and 
was opened in the House in the Wood in The Hague 
in 1800; but in 1808, when Amsterdam was made 
the capital of Holland, the pictures were removed 
from The Hague to the Palace on the Dam, where 
some old pictures owned by the city of Amsterdam 
were also sent. In 1814 they were all removed to 
the Trippenhuis, where they remained until the Eyks 
Museum was opened in 1885. 

The picture gallery, which occupies the first floor, 
is one of the finest in the Netherlands and numbers 
more than two thousand works, chiefly by Dutch art- 
ists. The greatest treasure is Rembrandt's " Night 
Watch," representing Captain Banning Cocq's com- 
pany of archers leaving their headquarters. The 
captain and his lieutenant are in the front and are 
followed by their soldiers streaming out of the guard- 
house in confusion and haste. Conspicuous among 
them are the drummer and the standard-bearer. 

The " Night Watch " is one of the most famous 
pictures in the world. It is not only remarkable for 
the spirited motion of its figures, but for its effects 

154 



The City of Amsterdam 

of light and shade. In fact, it is so enveloped in twi- 
light that the spectator has to look at the picture for 
some time before the figures emerge from the shad- 
ows, and the faces, limbs, bodies, drums, flags and 
lances take definite shape. 

The " Syndics " is also a portrait group. Five 
Dutch cloth-merchants, all dressed alike, in black, 
with flat, white collars and large black hats, are seated 
around a table, covered with a red cloth, verifying 
their accounts. Some critics consider it Rembrandt's 
greatest picture. Two other great pictures of this 
class are by Bartholomew Van der Heist. One rep- 
resents Captain Roelof Bicker's Company and con- 
tains thirty-two life-size figures. Captain Bicker and 
his men are welcoming a new ensign in front of a 
tavern in the Geldersche-Kade. Every figure is dra- 
matic in pose and expression, and the colors of the 
costumes are very brilliant and varied. The other 
work depicts a banquet of the St. George Company 
in their St, Jorisdoele, or guardhouse, on the Singel- 
gracht, in celebration of the Peace of Miinster. The 
twenty-five figures are splendidly dressed, in velvet 
and satin doublets, plumed hats, lace collars and cuffs, 
sashes, high boots and golden spurs, and all are eating 
and drinking, talking and laughing, or cordially 
grasping hands. Marvellously painted are the vi- 
ands, the dishes, the gold and silver drinking-horns, 
the tall wine glasses, filled with sparkling liquid, the 
orange that one man is peeling, the fowl that another 
is carving, and the pastry that a servant is bringing 
in to the feast. 

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A Guide to Cities 

Govaert Flinck's " Arquebusiers of Amsterdam," 
celebrating the Peace of Westphalia, and represent- 
ing the soldiers issuing from their guardhouse, is an- 
other splendid work of this class. It hangs in a spe- 
cial section devoted to " Regent/' " Corporation " 
and " Guild " pictures. 

Everybody pauses to look at the " Floating 
Feather," by Melchior d' Hondecoeter. Here we have 
a group of birds in a lovely park : on the left stands 
a large pelican and, behind it, a crane, a flamingo 
and a cassowary; on the right are some ducks and 
geese; and in front of the swimming ducks the deli- 
cately painted feather floats on the surface of the 
quiet pool. 

The Ryks Museum has other treasures besides pict- 
ures. There are splendid porcelains from the Orient 
and native productions; wonderful examples of cut 
and engraved glass of the seventeenth and eighteenth 
centuries; silver plate of rare workmanship, includ- 
ing superb drinking-horns belonging to the city of 
Amsterdam and which appear in Van der Heist's 
pictures just described ; rare etchings and engravings 
by Rembrandt and other masters; carvings in wood 
and ivory; tapestries, embroideries and lace; Chi- 
nese and Japanese curios and articles in lacquer; 
brass, copper and bronze utensils; small articles in 
gold and silver for household service or personal 
adornment; jewels and costumes; musical instru- 
ments ; carriages, sleighs and sedan-chairs ; and 
weapons and uniforms. 

A department illustrating ecclesiastical art from 
156 



The City of Amsterdam 

the eighth to the eighteenth century with reproduc- 
tions and relics in the way of bits of architecture, 
church-windows, furniture, pulpits, vestments and 
sacred vessels, occupies much space. The Naval 
Collection is also extensive. In addition to captured 
flags and trophies and relics of Dutch explorers and 
navigators, there are many models of ships of differ- 
ent periods. The grounds on the south side of the 
building are laid out in imitation of a Dutch garden 
of the seventeenth century, with hedges, a maze, 
flowers, statues and vases; and contains, moreover, 
fragments and reproductions of old Dutch buildings 
that have been tastefully grouped. 

A few steps down Paulus Potter St mat we find 
the Stedelyk Museum, dating from 1892, and con- 
taining Dutch antiquities of various kinds and a gal- 
lery of modern Dutch paintings. 

Amsterdam is not very rich in parks. The most 
popular is YondeVs Parle, not far from the Kyks 
Museum. It is named in honor of Holland's most 
celebrated poet, Joost van den Vondel, who died in 
1679, and whose tragedy Gysbrecht van Amstel de- 
scribing Amsterdam's historical murder (see page 
131) still holds the stage. The Park contains a 
statue of the poet, and beneath the shady trees a 
cafe, a restaurant, and a little pond. 

Willems-Park, Sarphati Park, East Park and 
West Park, are somewhat smaller open spaces than 
are generally met with in large European cities. The 
Botanical Gardens, south of a little private park, 
have long been famous for their palms and Victoria 

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A Guide to Cities 

Regia house, and the Zoological Gardens north of 
the Botanic Gardens and south of the Entrepot 
Doh y embrace twenty-eight acres. People also flock 
in large numbers in the summer to the Tea Gardens 
of the old Custom House over the Y, crossing by 
means of a steam ferry, to enjoy the music from the 
military band and the beautiful view of Amsterdam. 

Amsterdam, like other cities in Holland, is ren- 
dered somewhat independent of parks and squares by 
innumerable retreats upon the canals in and near the 
city. Alphonse Esquiros notices that " Holland is 
not the only country where you find the most water, 
but also the one where you find the most motionless 
water. The canals are arrested rivers, and this se- 
renity of the water is related to that of the manners, 
habitations and countenances. Near the towns 
Chinese pavilions are built on the canal banks, where 
people meet in fine weather to drink tea and coffee. 
Some of these pavilions, whose roofs are covered with 
varnished and glistening tiles, bathe their base in 
water with a joyous air. In these nests, which re- 
pose under an abundant verdure, domestic happi- 
ness seeks a refuge. The stranger who wanders about 
alone regards with an eye of envy these little re- 
treats, which are so proud of their cleanliness, and 
look at themselves in the canal like a girl before a 
looking-glass. Here the ladies apply themselves to 
needle-work, while looking out at the passing boats 
and travellers ; while for the men the hours evaporate 
in rings of smoke." 

Attractive and numerous are the short trips that 
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The City of Amsterdam 

can be made from Amsterdam to points of historic 
interest and natural beauty. It is only a short run 
to Haarlem by the electric tram and not three hours 
to Alkmaar, to which interesting old town steam- 
boats go several times a day. 



159 



THE CITY OF HAMBURG 

THE BEEFSTEAK TOWN 

THERE are two pictures of Hamburg that recur 
to everyone who has visited that city : — one is 
the harbor with its forest of masts, its gigantic docks 
and enormous ships and steamers from all parts of the 
world; and the other is that of the beautiful Alster 
lakes and the leafy and gay Jwigfernstieg, where in 
the Alster-Pavillion are served dishes that justify 
Hamburg's great reputation for good living. No one 
ever misses going there, if not to eat the famous beef- 
steak which has given Hamburg its popular name, at 
least to drink a cup of coffee outside in the covered 
verandah on the water side, and enjoy the view over 
the Alster. 

Hamburg has always favored art, science and let- 
ters; and the theatre has been one of the city's 
greatest pleasures. Klopstock made this city his 
home in 1771 ; and Heine was also a familiar figure. 
At the present time, Hamburg shows much literary 
activity, and a literary society, founded in 1891, gives 
Volksabende (people's evenings) that are well sup- 
ported and attended. It is also famous for its gen- 
erosity, its hospitality and its lavish and elegant 
entertainment. 

160 



The City of Hamburg 

To landscape more than to architecture Hamburg 
owes its charm. Few cities have such beautiful 
water scenes. Hamburg is framed by water. On the 
south, the broad Elbe forms a noble river front, and 
is of such depth that gigantic boats can dock at her 
very streets ; and on the north two lovely lakes form 
a water picture of widely different character; and 
close at hand is the sea which sends its salt, sharp 
and sweet air into the very heart of the city. It is 
one of the world's great ports. 

Hamburg is not only a city : it is a state, to which 
a territory, consisting of some fifty towns and vil- 
lages, is subject; and this greater Hamburg is also 
beautiful. Various types of landscape are displayed 
within its boundaries. Here we find marshes and 
there we find meadows; here we see waving wheat 
fields and there we see rich pasture lands. Poets 
have said that no Babylonian garments decorated 
with gold and jewels could equal the emerald mead- 
ows so thickly embroidered with many colored 
flowers that surround the town of Hamburg. 

The water near the city is dyked with earth stolen 
for centuries from the river-bed. The high hills on 
the right of the Elbe from Altona to Blankenese cor- 
respond with the harbor hills on the other side of the 
river — high wooded hills that remind us of the hills 
of Thuringia. Other parts of the surrounding coun- 
try are well wooded, although the landscape is flat, 
except in the Sachsenwald, so famous for its fine 
beeches. Most attractive are Bergedorf, where the 
peasants still wear their quaint ancient costume, and 

161 



A Guide to Cities 

the other forest villages, where the rich Hamburger 
has been enabled by means of the extension of sub- 
urban railways to build charming country places for 
rest and recreation. 

Heath and moor with their melancholy charm 
are also in close proximity, easily accessible in the 
Lilneburger Heide; and there are many watering- 
places on the sandy shore, such as Numiihlen and 
Oevelgonne, where the people can be as jolly and 
noisy as they please; and there are little fishing-vil- 
lages that lie behind Altona on the Elbe, where old 
sea captains tired of going to sea sun themselves on 
benches, and where there are boarding-houses for 
summer guests and hospitable inn-gardens for the 
loiterer. Then there are islands, inhabited and un- 
inhabited, lying on the breast of the broad Elbe ; and 
there are rich low-lying lands behind broad dykes — 
Vierlande (cattle-land) and Alteland (old-land) and 
the Lulie, reminding us of Holland; and, last, but 
by no means least, the great Hamburg seashore re- 
sort, Cuxhaven, at the wide mouth of the Elbe, with 
a magnificent old castle dating from the fourteenth 
century, one of the best examples of a mediaeval 
stronghold in Germany. 

Hamburg, or Hammaburg, owes its foundation to 
a port built by Charlemagne in 808 on the Alster 
as a check on his Slavonian subjects, who then ex- 
tended as far west as this point. The fort was 
quickly destroyed by the Wilzes (a Slavonic tribe), 
but was rebuilt in 810. It became the centre of 
Christian missionary work in the region north of 

162 







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The City of Hamburg 

the Elbe and in Scandinavia; and later included 
Iceland and Greenland in its diocese. 

In 845, the Normans burnt the settlement to 
ashes. The seat of the Archbishopric was then trans- 
ferred to Bremen, which, in a measure, was a check 
to the western progress of Christianity. The town 
was rebuilt, but up to the time of Henry I. it suf- 
fered several times from the destructive expeditions 
of the Danish and Slavonic tribes. In the tenth cen- 
tury, it found peace and security under Hermann 
Billung, the energetic Duke of Saxony. On the 
death of Otto II. it was retaken by a rising of the 
Slavonians, who held it from 983 to 987. On the 
site of the old buildings, Archbishop Unwan (1013- 
1029) built a chapter-house, and Alebrand con- 
structed a cathedral and palace (the Wideburg) on 
the Elbe in 1037. This was also destroyed in 1072 
by the Wends. Hamburg was acquired by Count 
Adolphus of Schauenburg with Holstein in 1110. 
The Cathedral was restored under this prince. 
Count Adolphus III. founded the new City close to 
the Old City in 1188, and under him Hamburg, as 
a reward for a large contribution to the Third Cru- 
sade (1189), obtained important privileges from the 
Emperor, including judicial rights, freedom from 
tolls and the right of fishing on the Elbe to its 
mouth. Guilds and trade organizations were already 
in existence. The Counts of Schauenburg constantly 
strengthened their hold on the city; and in 1231, 
built a strong castle in it. 

About 1241, Hamburg and Lubeck made an al- 
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A Guide to Cities 

liance to protect their trade interests, which is fre- 
quently referred to as the origin of The Han- 
seatic League, the name of which was derived from 
Hansa, or association. This was an alliance of the 
great commercial towns of northern Germany, par- 
ticularly for the protection of the Baltic trade, which 
Denmark threatened to monopolize. Liibeck was the 
head of the League and became the most important 
town in Germany. 

In the fourteenth century, the Hansa changed its 
character from a league of merchants abroad to a 
league of towns at home. The Hansa declined in the 
sixteenth century; and in 1669 the last general as- 
sembly was held. After that the name of Hanse 
towns was kept by Liibeck, Hamburg and Bremen, 
all of which were now independent. 

The Reformed Religion was introduced in 1529 
and during the religious dissensions that followed 
many people, driven away by the bigotry of the Lu- 
therans, founded the adjoining town Altona. To- 
wards the last of the century many Spanish and 
Portuguese Jews sought refuge and made a perma- 
nent home in Hamburg, and merchants and others, 
driven from Antwerp by the Spanish troubles, also 
nocked to Hamburg. 

During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), 
Hamburg managed to keep the scourge of war at a 
distance and suffered very few of the calamities that 
fell upon the German inland towns. But though the 
population of the city increased, vast sums had to be 
spent on various measures of protection; and great 

164 



The City of Hamburg 

losses were suffered through the insecurity of both 
the land and sea transportation of goods till the 
pirates and robber bands were suppressed. 

What Hamburg was during the first half of the 
eighteenth century we learn from the following 
sketch : 

" Hamburg was the largest of all the commercial 
cities of Germany. The houses were very high, and 
the streets so narrow that two vehicles could not pass 
each other. The inhabitants were chiefly merchants, 
and amongst them were many English families. The 
city was divided into five parishes, each of which had 
a handsome Protestant church. Hamburg was a free 
city, governed by four burgomasters, twenty-four 
senators, and some other magistrates. There were 
very few mechanics and fewer manufacturers, the 
only articles made there being gold and silver, lace, 
stockings and silks. The trade, however, was so great 
that as many as 300 ships were constantly employed 
in carrying its merchandise to and from England, 
Holland and the German States by means of the 
river Elbe. So important was this city that in 
times of war it was always considered neutral, and 
was not, therefore, subject to depredations like other 
cities. 

" Hamburg was very conspicuous for its little 
trim Dutch gardens along the banks of the river. 
'Not a twig was out of order, not a plant was allowed 
to grow to any height. 

" All was prim and formal in the extreme ; but 
here the merchant would saunter up and down smok- 

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A Guide to Cities 

ing his pipe after office hours in gossip with his 
neighbor on the current topics of the day. 

" The gates were always closed at sun-down, after 
which no one was allowed to enter or leave the city. 

" The ladies of Hamburg were very reserved in 
their manners, and rarely appeared in the streets 
without a thick black veil. The Senators wore a 
black Spanish cloak, a velvet hat and a sword. They 
were chosen for life, ten being lawyers and fourteen 
of them merchants, each of whom was expected to 
keep a private coach." * 

In 1770 the city was represented in the " Khen- 
ish bench " of the imperial diet; in 1810 the French 
made it the chief town in the department of the 
"Mouths of the Elbe"; and in 1815 Hamburg be- 
came an independent state of the German federation 
and formed with Liibeck, Bremen and Frankfort the 
curia of the free cities. 

Hamburg's trade was in a flourishing condition 
when the Great Fire of 1842 destroyed 4219 build- 
ings and deprived 20,000 persons of their homes. 

The year 1858 was of great importance ; for a com- 
mission met there to discuss the navigation of the 
Elbe and maritime law. In 1866, Hamburg sup- 
ported Prussia against Austria, and favored the 
formation of the North German Confederation by 
a large majority. 

Approaching the city from Cuxhaven we notice 

the fishing-villages that succeed one another until we 

reach Blankenese; and then villas, parks and pleas- 

* Dr. Brewer. 

166 



The City of Hamburg 

ure-grounds are dotted upon the wooded hills until 
the town of Altona comes into view. The charac- 
ter of the suburbs varies greatly — labor, manu- 
facture, commerce, shop-keeping, garden and villa 
districts, one after another, all harmoniously com- 
bined. 

As we approach the town, the forest of masts, the 
towers and spires and masses of buildings announce 
Hamburg. A long line of docks and quays and 
warehouses extend all the way from Altona, a dis- 
tance of five miles! 

From the haven, we have an impressive picture 
of the great metropolis before us with its busy, ever- 
moving life — laboring and manufacturing, and sea- 
going Hamburg. Against the background of houses 
and churches a multitude of boats and ships form a 
moving foreground of sails and masts and clouds of 
smoke. 

The quiet centre of this city picture which the eye 
always sought with pleasure — the old and venerable 
St. Michael's Church — is now missing, having been 
destroyed by Hamburg's latest fire. This enormous 
tower, which rose 426 feet into the air, was a char- 
acteristic Hamburg landmark and is mourned by 
everyone; and although another church is being 
erected on the same site and upon the old walls, it 
can never atone for the loss of Great St. Michael's. 
This church was built in 1750-1762, and could ac- 
commodate three thousand worshipers. Its tall tower 
was visible from every street, or canal, or bridge, 
in the city. 

167 



A Guide to Cities 

Though St. Michael's has gone, the left bank is 
still dominated by the tops of the Stintfang with the 
signal station, and the Sailors' Home peeping above 
the beautiful clumps of green trees ; while on the 
right the great warehouses on the quays and the time 

ball Tower show above the busv traffic of the bank 

%j 

of the haven. 

Between these two prominent points extends a long 
line of not very tall houses of the haven ; ships with 
their gangways and cranes ; piers with the dirty wa- 
ter of the stream washing against them and the char- 
acteristic piles called " Dukes of Alba " that stick 
out of the water. All that the eye falls upon is the 
work of man's hand that has taken centuries of toil 
to produce. The dyked land between the north and 
south banks of the Elbe looks like anchored islands ; 
the bed of the water has been narrowed and deep- 
ened ; the mighty wharves and factories and the big 
viaduct over the dock of Blohm & Voss, the quays 
and warehouse canals and private docks, are all 
triumphs of man's industry, and on such a gigantic 
scale and so impressive that it seems to be the work 
of nature. 

One of the features of Hamburg is the luxuriant 
belt of green that surrounds it, extending from the 
Stintfang all the way north, east and south to the 
Berlin Railway Station. These delightful prome- 
nades were laid out on the old fortifications that for- 
merly encircled the city, which consists of the Alt- 
stadt and the Neustadt (old town and new town), 
joined on the one side by the suburb of St. George 

168 



The City of Hamburg 

and on the other by that of St. Pauli and the town 
of Altona. 

On the north side lies the most beautiful district 
of Hamburg, built around a sheet of water called the 
Binnen-Alster (Inner Alster), formed from a larger 
lake outside the town called the Ausser-Alster (Outer 
Alster), which, in turn, is supplied by a small river, 
the Alster. On the east, another little river, the 
Bille, enters Hamburg; and both rivers are dis- 
charged into canals called fleets and into branches of 
the Elbe that flow through the lower parts of the 
town. These canals, of various sizes, some of which 
wind gracefully around the quays, and crossed by in- 
numerable bridges from which picturesque views of 
the town are obtained, give a peculiar individuality 
to Hamburg. All these havens, canals and the two 
glassy Alster lakes fully justify Mr. Steevens's 
happy remark that " Hamburg is gemmed with la- 
goons." 

We have seen industrial Hamburg from the Elbe ; 
now let us look at leisured and pleasure-loving Ham- 
burg around the Binnen-Alster, or Alster-Bassin, as 
it is generally called. The Binnen-Alster is per- 
fectly square, about a mile in circumference and sur- 
rounded on three sides by wide quays bordered with 
trees, handsome dwellings and magnificent hotels. 
The quay called the Alte-Jungfernstieg is the gayest 
and busiest; on its left is the Neue-Jungfernstieg 
and on its right is the Alster damm; while, directly 
opposite the Alte-Jungfernstieg, and separating the 
Binnen-Alster from the outer lake, is an embankment 

169 



A Guide to Cities 

consisting of two parks, or promenades, connected by 
a bridge called the Lombardsbruche. 

A beautiful view is to be had from this bridge, 
looking north across the Ausser-Alster, with its ris- 
ing banks, on which the villas of the wealthy with 
their parks and gardens are thickly sprinkled; and, 
looking south across the Binnen-Alster, gay with little 
boats and floating swans, to the city whose buildings 
and towers make such a pretty picture. At the end 
of the Old Jungfernstieg the Alster-Pavillion is 
situated, — a cafe that is to Hamburg what the 
Bratwurstglockle is to Nuremburg and the Hofbrdu- 
haus to Munich. On the right of the Old Jungfern- 
stieg are the Alster Arcades, a street running paral- 
lel with the little Alster that flows in from the lake 
and filled with attractive shops. The Alster Arcades 
extend from the Reesendammbriicke to the Schleu- 
senbrucke, two bridges that run parallel with the Old 
Jungfernstieg. 

" The picture seen from the Alster," exclaims an 
artist, " is harmonious in line and picturesque in 
composition with the mass of many slender towers 
artistically distributed in a fine frame composed 
of beautiful groups of buildings. Naturally, you 
must select your point of view in order to see it 
embedded in green. If we are in a boat on the Outer 
Alster we see the Lombardsbriicke with its three fine 
arches, and behind it the roofs of the Jungfernstieg 
and the high towers of Hamburg. Here again we 
miss the dominating tower of old St. Michael's ; but 
there still remain enough slender, characteristic and 

170 



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The City of Hamburg 

various church towers such as St. Nicholas, St. 
Peter and St. Jakobi. The old Post towers, a pair 
of high chimneys like those of the city mills, also 
take their place very effectively in the picture. The 
foreground shows us the bright surface of the Alster, 
enlivened with sail boats and small steamboats, — a 
city picture that for variety and idyllic character 
cannot be matched anywhere. 

" Magnificent also is the view from the Lom- 
bardsbriicke of the Binnen- Alster and the Jungfern- 
stieg. Let your eyes rove around as they will, they 
will constantly return to the broad fine promenades 
that embrace the water from left to right and will 
rest with satisfaction on the prominent Jungfern- 
stieg with the tall fine building which juts out into 
the water — the Alster-Pavillion — and the splendid 
hotels and the handsome appearance of the impor- 
tant shops. 

" But in the evening, when all the lights are burn- 
ing in the streets and behind the windows, and all 
the lanterns and lights on the boats and ships blaze 
out on the water and mirror themselves in the waves, 
then the scene is like fairy-land. Perhaps it is most 
beautiful in the twilight when the Alster assumes a 
deep blue tint. This is the Alster's hour of blue. 

" Beautiful, too, is the winter picture of the Alster 
with its flying guests, — the sea-gulls. 

" One severe winter they suddenly appeared in 
the centre of the city. People fed them and the 
knowing creatures came again winter after winter. 
Now they are regular visitors and everybody loves 

171 



A Guide to Cities 

and feeds them. You can buy sea-gull food on the 
streets for ten pfennig. Venice has her St. Mark's 
pigeons ; Hamburg has the Alster gulls.' 7 

The banks of the Ausser-Alster are very beauti- 
ful, as they are dotted with villas, gardens and 
parks, — the residences of Hamburg's wealthy citi- 
zens. There are also several villages here, the most 
popular one of which is Uhlenhorst, which can be 
reached by tram or steamer from the Jungfernstieg. 
At Horn, three miles east of Hamburg, the annual 
races are run, — the German Derby. 

Next to London and New York Hamburg is the 
third largest port in the world ; and therefore, among 
the chief sights of the town, if not the most interest- 
ing of all, are the quays and docks. 

Regular tourist trips are made to these harbors, 
havens and docks, starting from the Hafentor at the 
landing-stage of St. Pauli. 

" Every does, slip and basin has its own name, and 
receives its own line of ships and boats. What a 
scene of movement, and what a noise of clanking 
chains, puffing engines, creaking and groaning of the 
winches and windlasses, cries and shouts of the work- 
men and sailors as the busy hands raise by means of 
rope and chain windlass the wares from the chutes 
below to the various floors of the warehouses. What 
a variety of boats and great chutes empty or full 
move up and down along-side of these boats by 
their manipulators. Then, too, we frequently see a 
primitive barge moved by one man who pushes his 
way through the mass of shipping by means of a 

172 



The City of Hamburg 

pole and hook, slowly indeed, but very deftly and 
surely and bringing his boat through the apparently 
impenetrable mass of boats to the required landing. 
We also note the little light boats, the steam-boats of 
the harbor-police, or a steam-tug that leaves a long 
plume of smoke behind it and its shadow on the 
water. 

" Eye and ear have had much to see and hear ; 
but what about the nose? Could one ever imag- 
ine such odors as escape from the chutes and open 
warehouses ? Such strong perfumes as hides, whale 
oil and petroleum fill the air with an inexplicable 
mixture at which the unaccustomed nostril guesses 
in vain. Part of the stench comes from the fleets 
themselves. At the ebb tide, when all business on 
these canals ceases and the chutes lie black and stiff 
in the mud, through which the dirty water only flows 
in runnels, then many things come to light which ex- 
plain these terrible smells. 

" The Fleetenhieker gentry, who make a business 
of doing nothing, and who stand for hours leaning 
over a bridge rail gazing into the canal, have cer- 
tainly no cause to complain about the variety of 
things they see in the mud. Whether they take any 
interest in the changing lights and shades of the day 
and hour is questionable; but certain it is that the 
lovely shadows and lights that often produce fantas- 
tic effects in the fleets are enough to induce any one 
with an artistic eye to become a Fleetenhieker :" 

The most attractive of the fleets lie in the old town, 
such as the fleet by the Reimersbrucke, with St. Ger- 

173 



A Guide to Cities 

trude's Church in the background ; or the fleet at the 
high bridge, where the top of the tower peeps over 
the gabled roofs ; or the small fleet behind the walls, 
where you see the backs of the old warehouses and 
dwellings, — remnants of the mediaeval days when the 
town was enclosed with walls and people dwelt close 
together for greater security. 

If we go in from the fleet to enter one of these old 
warehouses, we traverse a narrow but deep piece of 
ground before we come to the street. Between the 
warehouse and the dwelling and counting-houses on 
the street stretches a larger or smaller courtyard, on 
which the windows of a side wing look; and this 
wing generally connects the front and back building. 
At last we reach the broad Hanseatic Kaufmanns- 
diele on the street and find ourselves in the centre 
of old Hamburg. 

In addition to being the greatest port on the 
Continent, Hamburg is one of the greatest money 
markets in the world. Therefore, the Exchange, or 
Borse, in the Adolphs-Platz is worth a visit. Here 
four or five thousand brokers, merchants and ship- 
owners congregate every day between one and two 
o'clock. 

The building erected in 1839-1841 was spared by 
the fire of 1842; and was given a new fagade in 
1894. It also houses a fine Eeading-room and a 
Library of 100,000 volumes. The Exchange is con- 
nected with the new Rathaus, or Town Hall, built in 
1886-1897 in the German Kenaissance style. The 
latter faces the Rathaus-Markt, and demands a lit- 

174 



The City of Hamburg 

tie study on our part. On the fagade are bronze 
statues of twenty German Emperors and above them 
seven patron saints of the five old city parishes and 
two monasteries. These are Michael, Katharine, 
Peter, Mcholas and James, for the city; and John 
and Mary Magdalen for the monasteries. Above the 
windows are placed the arms of the Hanseatic towns 
and figures representing various arts and crafts. 
Four figures emblematical of the civic virtues adorn 
the portal and the German Eagle surmounts the 
tower which is 370 feet high. In the centre of the 
courtyard is a fountain. The principal rooms are 
the Great Hall, the Senate, the Town Council, the 
Kaisersaal, the Burgomaster's Room, the Orphans' 
Room and the Phoenix Room. In the vaults is the 
Ratsweinkeller, a restaurant and tavern, the vesti- 
bule of which is decorated with stained glass and 
paintings dealing with the history and ancient cus- 
toms of Hamburg. In front of the Rathaus stands 
an equestrian statue of William I. The old Ham- 
burger, one who clings to the old standing of the 
free town, does not look lovingly either at the Eagle 
on the tower, or at the statue of the Emperor. He 
still sighs for his ancient privileges. 

Owing to the modern spirit of the Hamburgers, 
and more particularly to the great fire of 1842, 
Hamburg contains few ancient buildings. With 
the exception of a few churches and some old 
residences of the seventeenth and eighteenth cen- 
turies in the Reichenstrasse, the Cremon, the Ro- 
dingsmarkt and Eatharinenstrasse (all near the 

175 



A Guide to Cities 

Binnenhafen) , the town has a modern appearance. 
A fire that rendered 5,160 families (20,000 individ- 
uals) roofless, killed 39 persons (25 burned to death) 
and injured 118 souls, that destroyed 1,749 houses, 
102 stores and warehouses, 61 streets and 120 courts 
and alleys, wiping out a quarter of the town, is worth 
hearing about in detail. One of the spectators thus 
described it: 

" The fire began about one o'clock on Thursday, 
May 5, and raged unceasingly until the following 
Sunday at noon. It seems to have begun in a cigar 
factory in Deich Street, on the north side of the 
Binner Haven, and a heavy wind drove the flames 
towards the part of the city crowded with people and 
containing the chief public buildings. One of the 
first to go was the Church of St. Nicholas, an im- 
mense building of the twelfth century, with a lofty 
square tower surmounted by a spire that reached a 
height of 360 feet. 

" When this spire began to burn its appearance 
was that of a magnificent torch in the midst of a 
wide-spreading sea of fire ; a sight terrible and sub- 
lime; and as the green, red and yellow flames 
climbed towards the pinnacle, every eye in Hamburg 
was directed to the church, and all personal anxieties 
were forgotten for the moment in the interest ex- 
cited by the approaching catastrophe. That interest 
was painfully increased when the chimes of the 
tower began mournfully to perform its funeral dirge. 
The last tones of the bells, untuned by the expansion 
of the heat, came upon the ear as a cry of suffering, 

176 



The City of Hamburg 

and it was a relief to the spectators when it ceased. 
The sheets of copper with which the sides of the 
spire were plated were seen to peel off and, glowing 
with a red heat, floated away in the air. Soon after 
it fell with a tremendous crash to the ground. In 
the morning divine service had been performed in 
the church, in the evening it was a ruin. 

" The wide gap made by blasting Streit's hotel 
and the adjoining houses, assisted by a change of the 
wind, prevented the flames extending to the New 
Jungf ernstieg ; but the fire now began to rage on the 
opposite side of the Alster, consisting of houses and 
warehouses built to the water's edge. The Church 
of St. Peter's, situated in that part of the old city, 
and admired both for its antiquity and the chaste 
simplicity of its architecture, was next threatened. 

" Two hundred persons were unceasingly engaged 
in defending it from the approaching conflagration. 
Several houses were blasted about it, but under cir- 
cumstances which allowed the engineers no hope of 
success, and the cannon of the Hanoverian artillery 
were fired against others, but with no useful result. 

" During the night of Friday the heated wood- 
work several times burst into flames, and although 
as often extinguished, the heat became so intense, 
that about nine in the morning it was necessary to 
abandon the Church to its fate. A scene similar to 
that of the burning of St. Nicholas was renewed; 
again the green and yellow flames rose high above 
the summit, the bells tolled their own departure, and, 
when the steeple broke off from the tower, it buried 

177 



A Guide to Cities 

itself many feet in the earth from the violence of its 
fall. 

" On Saturday and Sunday morning the flames 
were chiefly confined to the east bank of the Alster; 
a densely populated district, which, consisting of 
narrow streets, there were no available means of cut- 
ting off the fire even with gunpowder (of which un- 
limited supplies had now arrived), without blowing 
up nearly as great a number of houses as the fire 
itself was likely to destroy. The engineers, however, 
did what they could by explosions, but nothing in 
this quarter could check the conflagration which con- 
tinued to rage until, reaching the Boulevard, it burnt 
itself out." 

Another eye-witness wrote: 

" Upon the Old Jungfernstieg, separated by the 
road from the houses, was now piled in hurried con- 
fusion the costly furniture of the inhabitants; the 
water was covered with barges and boats in which 
they were endeavouring to save that and other 
valuable property; but the wind before mid-day had 
increased to a perfect hurricane; the flames com- 
municated themselves to this mass of furniture and 
the whole was soon one long line of fire; even the 
boats upon the Alster did not escape; several were 
burnt with their contents to the water's edge. 
Others, overloaded or unskilfully manned, were up- 
set, and the surface of the water was soon strewed 
with the wreck of furniture which had been de- 
stroyed by the joint powers of two opposing elements. 
As night a second time approached, the aspect from 

178 



The City of Hamburg 

the opposite bank was one of appalling magnificence. 
Before us lay the Old Jungfernstieg, one unbroken 
chain of fire; on the right it seemed to be on the 
point of reaching the New Jungfernstieg, which 
would have been the signal for the certain destruc- 
tion of the newest and most beautiful district of the 
town ; on the left it was advancing with rapid strides 
to the old town, threatening the churches of St. 
Jacob and St. Peter, the new school-house, a public 
building which contains the large and very valuable 
public library, and many other buildings. The 
crashing of beams, the explosions of gunpowder, 
which were continually resounding from every 
quarter, the firing of cannon, shouting of men, the 
cries and lamentations of women and children, all 
served to heighten the horror and the absorbing in- 
terest of the spectacle." 

An old verse described the parish churches as fol- 
lows: 

Katherinen, de Finen, 

Nicolai, de Riken, 

St. Petri, desgliken, 

Jakobi, de Sturen, 

Michaelis, de Buren. 

St. Nicholas was rebuilt after the fire of 1842 by 
Sir Gilbert Scott, an English architect, in the ornate 
Gothic style of the thirteenth century. It is 285 
feet long, and the west tower, finished in 1874, is 485 
feet high, one of the highest towers in Europe, rank- 
ing next to Ulm (528 feet) ; Cologne (512 feet) and 
Eouen (495 feet). St. Nicholas is beautifully 

179 



A Guide to Cities 

carved and filled within and without with sculptures 
that perpetuate the memory of all those who worked 
to found and spread the Christian religion. It has 
also beautiful stained-glass windows, a fine organ 
and a set of chimes. 

The west front looks upon the Hop fen Markt 
(the Hop Market), Hamburg's great fruit and 
vegetable market. What a picture of variegated 
color with its piles of fruits, flowers and vegetables 
and constantly changing scenes of common life ! 
This market-scene, with its moving, chattering, 
laughing and arguing throng of vendors and buyers, 
with the beautiful tower of St. Nicholas rising above 
the quiet background of warehouses and office build- 
ings, produces a delightful impression. 

An equally picturesque and even more character- 
istic scene is afforded by the Messburg, on account 
of its vicinity to the water. Here the fishermen can 
come right into the market with their boats. The 
forest of masts against the high gabled houses and 
the maze of narrow streets gives to the market its 
particular character. 

The fish market in St. Pauli, held daily from five 
o'clock in the morning till eight, is a sight the travel- 
ler should never miss. South-east of St. Nicholas, 
on the big Zoll Kanal, stands St. Katharine's, spared 
by the fire of 1842. The church was built in the 
Seventeenth Century; and contains a marble pulpit 
of 1630, some ancient tombs and several valuable 
old German paintings. 

St. Peter's also stands nobly on its square near the 
ISO 



The City of Hamburg 

Exchange. The view from the Jungfernstieg up 
the city's streets to the large reddish tower with the 
green top is one of the most attractive to be found 
in Hamburg. 

The old church was burnt in the great Fire of 
1842, but was rebuilt in the Gothic style of the 
Fourteenth Century. 

Opposite St. Peter's is the Johanneum, the mod- 
ern house of an old college of the same name founded 
in 1529. One wing contains the old city library, 
with about 600,000 books and 5,000 MSS., includ- 
ing rare Bibles, mediaeval works on theology and 
Oriental MSS. of great value. In this building are 
also housed the Natural History Museum and the 
Museum of Hamburg Antiquities. 

Just south of the Johanneum is the Fish-market ; 
and to the east, on Steinstrasse, the Church of St. 
James, erected in 1580-92. North of this church 
is the Pferde MarM, out of which leads Alsterthor. 
Here stands the Thalia Theatre. 

Going east from the Lombardsbriicke and pass- 
ing the bronze monument to Schiller, we reach the 
Kunsthalle on the AlsterhoJie, built in 1867-69 and 
enlarged in 1886. Here we shall find much to 
enjoy, for there are no less than a thousand paint- 
ings. In addition to modern French and German 
works, the gallery contains, as is natural, fine works 
of Hamburg artists of the past and present from the 
fifteenth century to the present day; and, what is 
uncommon to find on the Continent, a collection of 
modern British paintings. The latter was gathered 

181 



A Guide to Cities 

"by Mr. Schwabe, a Hamburg merchant, who lived 
many years in London. The Dutch painters of the 
seventeenth century are well represented. We are 
now in the St. George quarter, where most of the 
museums are situated; but before we visit these we 
must look at the Hansa Fountain, erected in 1878 in 
the Hansa Platz. This was designed by E. Peiffer 
and is 56 feet high. 

Near Lubeckerthor, we shall find the Botanic 
Museum, containing woods, seeds, fruit and sea- 
weeds. The other two museums are situated be- 
tween the Steinthor and the Klosterthor. In the 
Museum of Industrial Art the works of the Japanese 
are especially well represented. In the Natural 
History Museum, the animals, birds, insects and 
creatures of the sea are beautifully mounted in 
imitation of their natural surroundings and habita- 
tions. There are also large collections of sea-shells 
and minerals. 

On the other side of the Lombardsbriicke the 
Esplanade, with its double row of trees and monu- 
ment to the soldiers of Hamburg who lost their lives 
in the Franco-Prussian war in 1870-71, leads to the 
Dammthor. Dammthorstrasse leads from Stephans- 
Platz, where the Post Office with its tall tower at- 
tracts our attention, to the Ganse Markt, in which 
stands a fine statue of Lessing. In Dammthorstrasse 
is the Stadt Theatre which seats 2,000 persons. 

Just beyond the Dammthor, we find the Botanical 
Gardens, which are especially famed for their water- 
plants of all known varieties ; and beyond them are 

182 



The City of Hamburg 

the Zoological Gardens, which are among the best in 
Germany. 

Eivalling the Zoological Gardens, however, is 
Hagenbeck's Animal Collection in the Neue Pferde 
Markt, which is known throughout the world. 

Few towns have had so many and such severe 
calamities as Hamburg; and not taking into account 
those of earlier periods, within the nineteenth cen- 
tury alone she suffered the great fire of 1842 ; the 
closing of the Customs ; and the experiences of the 
terrible cholera year of 1892 that necessitated a 
sanitation of the greater part of the city. 

From a description of this calamity we gather the 
following interesting facts : 

" A peculiar custom obtains in Hamburg, no men- 
tion of which has heretofore been made in the stories 
of the epidemic sent from here, and to this custom 
may be attributed many of the cholera deaths that 
have occurred here. As is well known the old town 
of Hamburg is very low and is traversed by many 
canals or fleets, as they are called here. These 
fleets generally form what may be called back streets, 
and they are bordered by warehouses, cellars and 
the dwelling-houses of poor people. These fleets are 
subject to the tides of the Elbe, and at certain times 
they are quite dry. When they are in this condition 
the Fleetenkiekers wander along the oozy channel 
and pick up any articles that the water may have 
deposited. As the tide rushes up the river from the 
North Sea, the fleets are filled with water to a depth 
of from fifteen to twenty feet. As soon as it is higb 

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A Guide to Cities 

tide at Cuxhaven, three shots are fired from the 
Stint fang at the harbor to warn the inhabitants along 
the fleets, and if the progress of the tide up the river 
gives indication of danger, three more shots are fired 
to add emphasis to the warning. Then the people 
who live along the lower levels make for higher 
ground, often carrying their little property with 
them. About the present time these lower levels are 
often inundated by the tides for several days in 
succession; but when the floods abate the people re- 
turn to their oozy abodes. Now it is well known 
that the water of the Elbe is impure and there are 
many who believe that through drinking it cholera 
is caused. With these people of the fleet, known as 
Lud von de Wasserkrant, handling articles picked 
from the canals and living in houses impregnated 
with the filthy Elbe water, it is an easy matter for 
the disease to obtain a foothold." 

Those who love old Hamburg deplore the changes 
that have had to be made for the sake of the new 
railways, and the streets that are daily sacrificed to 
make room for the broad new thoroughfares, and the 
city railway that is being constructed partly above 
and partly below the ground which has necessitated 
excavations. Changes, too, have had to take place 
in the harbor, for the basins completed at fabulous 
expense have proved of late years too narrow for the 
new boats. 

Hamburg is, indeed, a very modern and up-to-date 
city. In every direction electric cabs and taximeter 
cabs, trams, steamboats and ferries flit hither and 

184 



The City of Hamburg 

and thither, making the streets and lakes very gay 
and fnll of movement. The city itself is constantly 
pressing outwards. Beyond rolls the sea where 
there is room for all nations; but Hamburg is 
cramped within and has no room to expand except 
northwards and eastwards. Manufacture and ship- 
ping are constantly increasing, for Germany does not 
stand in the background of nations and Prussia has 
purchased the island of Neuhof for a State Custom 
House. On the south flows the Elbe ; and as Ham- 
burg has long since touched Altona on the one side, 
and on the other is connected house to house with 
W andsbeck, there is an unbroken sea of houses from 
Wandsbeck to Altona-Ottensen. The districts that 
allow the business man ready communication be- 
tween his home and office are all occupied; and 
Hamburg's own territory cannot satisfy the wish of 
everybody to possess a country-seat. 

The poorer people have to content themselves 
within the boundaries of the city, while the wealthy 
are building pretty villas and planting colonies on 
the shores of the Ausser-Alster and in the open spaces 
beyond the political boundaries. Many business 
men have settled in Wandsbeck, a town in Holstein 
about three miles from Hamburg on the northeast, 
and in the attractive villa colonies of Othmarsclien, 
Flottbeck, Hochkamp, Dockenhuden, and Blankenese 
on the banks of the Elbe beyond Altona. 

Wealthy Hamburgers also have beautiful gardens 
and country-seats on the railways towards Liibeck 
and Berlin, such as Altrahlstadt on the one hand and 

185 



A Guide to Cities 

Reinbeck and Friedriclisruh in the Sachsenwald, the 
latter the home of Bismarck, where he died in 1898 
and where he is buried. 

Charming homes are also found in Ninedorf on 
the north, Harburg in the south among the forest 
hills, on the shores of the Baltic and also in the 
Lilneburger Heide. 

Innumerable are the pleasure-resorts too. People 
go to the Sachsenwald to enjoy the lovely beeches and 
to Uhlenhorst on the Ausser-Alster which can be 
reached by tram or steamer from the Jungfernstieg. 
At Horn, three miles east of Hamburg, the annual 
races are run, — the German Derby. 

Cuxhaven is not too far to attract those who love 
sea-bathing; and from Cuxhaven excursions are 
made to the island of Heligoland. 



186 



THE CITY OF COPENHAGEN 

THE ATHENS OF THE NORTH 

COPENHAGEN, the centre of art, science and 
letters on the Baltic shores, had its begin- 
nings as a modest little fishing-village. It is first 
mentioned in Danish history in 1027, when during 
King Canute's absence in England the Kings of 
Norway and Sweden attacked Denmark ; and then it 
is merely called Haven. 

About the middle of the twelfth century it was 
still a little fishing-village when King Valdemar I. 
gave it to Absalon, Bishop of Eoskilde, also known 
as Axel Hride. The Bishop almost immediately 
built a castle or fortress on the site now occupied by 
the Christiansborg Palace, which was called after 
him Axel-huus. The settlement grew into a great 
resort for merchants and soon became known as the 
Merchants' Haven (K jobmannshavn) . 

Bishop Absalon bestowed on the see of Eoskilde 
the castle, the town and the island of Amager ; and 
Bishop Erlandsen gave special rights and privileges 
to this settlement, which were confirmed and in- 
creased by King Eric Glypping in 1284. The death 
of Valdemar II. was followed by a century of an- 
archy ; and his sons and grandsons nearly ruined the 

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A Guide to Cities 

kingdom that had once been so great His great- 
grandson, Valdemar III., was successful in recover- 
ing some of the lost possessions ; but Copenhagen had 
to stand several attacks from jealous neighbors. On 
Valdemar's death in 1375, his daughter Margaret 
reigned first as regent for her son Olaf and -then as 
sole sovereign. Queen Margaret, called the " Semir- 
amis of the North/' was probably the best ruler 
Denmark ever had. She soon united the crowns of 
Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and endeavored to 
keep them under one sceptre by the act known as the 
Union of Calmar (1397), which was intended to 
make the alliance permanent. 

Margaret's successor was her great-nephew Eric 
of Pomerania, whose queen, Philippa, daughter of 
Henry IV. of England, on one occasion, during 
Eric's absence in Sweden, courageously defended 
Copenhagen against the fleets of the Hanseatic 
League. 

Eric lost all that Queen Margaret had gained, as 
also the allegiance of his subjects ; and ended his life 
in obscurity. Various kings had tried to wrest 
Copenhagen from the see of Koskilde ; and, in 1443, 
the transference was made. Since that date Copen- 
hagen has- been a royal residence. 

The throne of Denmark passed from Eric to 
Christopher of Bavaria, his nephew, who had a short 
reign. At his death, in 1448, the Danes selected 
Christian of Oldenburg, a descendant, through the 
maternal line, of Valdemar II. 

It is interesting to note that the Oldenburg 
188 



The City of Copenhagen 

dynasty was unbroken from Christian I. to the death 
of Frederick VII. in 1863. Christian acquired the 
Duchy of Holstein in 1460. Christian II. ex- 
asperated the Swedes by the " Stockholm Blood 
Bath " (see page 225), and by other acts of tyranny 
lost his throne, and was imprisoned for life, while 
his uncle Frederick I. reigned in his place. Sweden 
broke away under Gustavus Vasa (see page 226) and 
became a powerful country. 

Christian I. and Christian II. cherished great 
ambitions of making Copenhagen the great city of 
the Baltic; and the city had to endure two terrible 
sieges in the reign of the latter, — in 1523-24 and 
1535-36. The people suffered greatly. " They had 
no eatables in the town, neither horses, nor dogs, 
nor cats, nor crows, nor anything but the leaves of 
the trees." The city was therefore starved into 
surrender. 

The greatest king of this dynasty was Christian 
IV., who was wise, liberal and enlightened, but who 
was so checked in every way by the powerful nobles 
that he was little more than president of a body of 
aristocrats. Copenhagen was, however, happy and 
prosperous during his reign; for the king was not 
only a warrior and statesman, but a patron of art 
and learning, and a great builder. He improved the 
city by fortifications and many fine buildings, in- 
cluding the Exchange, and the Palace of Rosenborg, 
and other characteristic edifices that give Copen- 
hagen its individuality. He also founded the town 
Christianshavn on the island of Amager. 

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A Guide to Cities 

During the reign of the son of Christian IV., 
Frederick III., the nobles were so lacking in patriot- 
ism and force that Charles X. of Sweden was able to 
wrest Denmark's provinces east of the Sound away 
from her. Then it was that the people conferred 
absolute sovereignty upon the King of Denmark and 
his successors. 

This was the turning-point for Copenhagen. 
Thenceforth it became the centre of the nation's 
life, art and learning. The new quarter Fredericks- 
holm was incorporated at this time ; and the fortifica- 
tions were extended. Christian V. (1670-1699) 
enlarged the Harbor, widened the streets, and en- 
couraged the building of stone houses. 

During the Eighteenth Century, Copenhagen suf- 
fered great disasters. A fleet of English, Dutch and 
Swedish ships bombarded it in 1700 ; it was visited 
by a plague in 1711 ; and a great fire in 1728 re- 
duced two-fifths of the town to ashes. Another ter- 
rible fire occurred in 1795. 

Owing to the neutral position Denmark occupied 
during the great wars that swept over Europe to- 
wards the close of the century Danish commerce and 
shipping increased greatly. Crichton tells us that: 

" This favorable state of things suffered a short 
interruption by the hostilities commenced by Eng- 
land in 1802, with a view to compelling Denmark to 
secede from the league of the armed neutrality, 
formed by neutral states for the protection of their 
commerce. Then the famous battle of the 2d April, 
1802, was fought in the roadstead of Copenhagen 

190 



The City of Copenhagen 

between a division of the English fleet under Nelson 
and the southern part of the Danish ' line of 
defence/ a number of old ships' hulks, moored or 
grounded on the shallow sands of Amager, while the 
Danish fleet lay moored and unequipped in the 
harbor." 

The action lasted from ten o'clock in the morning 
till two in the afternoon, and although the Danes 
fought valiantly one vessel struck after another. 
The loss of the British was reckoned at 1,200 and 
the Danes 6,000. Nelson said to the Crown Prince's 
aide-de-camp : " I have been in 105 engagements in 
the course of my life; but that of to-day was the 
most terrible of them all." 

" A melancholy scene of misery and ruin now pre- 
sented itself to the conquerors; white flags were fly- 
ing from the mastheads of the Danish ships and guns 
of distress were occasionally discharged, while the 
burning vessels, floating in the distance, threw a dis- 
mal light, which, from being clear and serene, had 
become suddenly overcast. The sea was covered 
with English boats, generously rendering assistance 
to those who were endeavoring to escape from the 
flaming wrecks. In the capital every house was 
filled with mourners; the streets were occupied with 
funeral-trains attending the dead, or with weeping 
friends conveying their wounded relatives back to 
those hearths which they had so nobly defended. 
Melancholy tributes were afterwards paid to the 
brave men who had fallen in the conflict; a public 
mausoleum was erected on the spot where the slain 

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A Guide to Cities 

had been interred, and a monument was raised in 
the principal church in the city. 

" When Nelson got permission to land, and 
went on shore attended by Captains Hardy and 
Eremantle to adjust terms of conciliation he was re- 
ceived by the generous citizens without a murmur, 
and treated by the accomplished prince with every 
mark of respect. The conduct of the people was 
such as became a gallant nation, depressed but not 
subdued by misfortune." * 

The second war with England of 1807 was under- 
taken because England, having heard that Napoleon 
was about to attack Denmark in order to capture her 
fleet, decided to do this for herself and frustrate his 
plans; consequently the British fleet with 20,000 
men appeared at Copenhagen and demanded sur- 
render. Copenhagen attempted to defend herself, 
but after a bombardment of three days yielded; and 
the English sailed away with the remaining Danish 
boats. A great part of Copenhagen was destroyed. 

In 1814, Denmark lost Norway; and, in 1864, 
Slesvig and Holstein. 

In 1867, the fortifications of Copenhagen were 
demolished and the ramparts levelled; and about 
1870 Copenhagen began to be a modern city with 
wide boulevards, quays and splendid docks. 

Copenhagen may be said to begin where the little 

town of Elsinore ends, where the waves of the Catte- 

gat pass into the sheltered waters of the Sound. 

Elsinore is an ancient commercial town, chiefly in- 

* Crichton, "Scandinavia." 

192 



The City of Copenhagen 

teresting on account of the old Castle of Kronborg, 
with its picturesque turrets, gables and spires, dating 
from the time of Christian IV., who in 1635-37 re- 
stored the Castle, originally built by Frederick II. 
in 1574^75, and which had been nearly destroyed 
by fire. From its ramparts salutes are fired to greet 
incoming vessels; for the Castle is now chiefly used 
as barracks. 

" It is as though Denmark's history stood there," 
says a Danish writer, " keeping watch at the outer- 
most point on the outermost redoubt. Traditions 
from the earliest times cling to these old walls. 
Down in the deepest vault, behind walls which none 
can penetrate, sits Holger Danske, the nation's hero. 
He has slept for a thousand years. His white beard 
has grown fast to the stone table while he slept. But 
when the last die is to be cast to decide the fate of 
Denmark — and they have played high and they have 
played long for the land of the Danes — then the hero 
will awake, tear his white beard from the table and 
grip his sword for the final struggle. 

" Far down below Holger Danske waits his day ; 
Hamlet's shade wanders on the ramparts above." 

" Kronborg possesses one great advantage over the 
other Danish buildings of the Sixteenth Century," 
wrote Horace Marryat. " It is built of fine sand- 
stone, the only specimen in the kingdom. Though 
quadrangular and four-towered, it is relieved from 
all appearance of formality by the quaint onion 
pagoda-like minarets by which its towers are sur- 
mounted. The lofty clock turret, too, rising from 

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A Guide to Cities 

the centre higher than those which flank the corners, 
adds to the dignity of the building. Few castles in 
the space of three hundred years have suffered so 
little from modern additions and improvement. 

" You enter the interior court through a richly 
ornamented gateway, guarded by statues and over- 
hung by a beautiful oriel window, enriched with the 
arms and ciphers of the founder. Opposite to you 
stands the chapel (the works of Kubens have long 
since disappeared) ; the fittings of the time of 
Christian IV. have been restored, but not too care- 
fully. It is curious to trace, as you can by the tur- 
ret to the right of the clock, the gradual transition 
from the Gothic to the Renaissance. The whole of 
the ornaments are of the latter period; but there is 
still occasionally a sort of feeling as if the architect 
was not quite decided in his views: whether he was 
or not, Kronborg is one of the most perfect specimens 
of its era — unspoiled, untouched and unrepaired — to 
be met with in Europe. It has long ceased to be 
occupied as a royal residence. One side is alone re- 
served for the use of His Majesty; the rest is oc- 
cupied by the General Commandant, the officers and 
the garrison. Above the entrance of the clock-tower, 
surrounding the ornaments, appears the head of a 
huge mastiff, holding in his fore-paws a heart-like 
shield, with the cypher of Frederick II., and below 
the favorite device of the King, " T. I. W. B. 
Treu ist Wilt Bratt" The same Wildbratt, whose 
portrait is above, was the favorite of King Frederick, 
and bit everybody save his royal master. Over the 

194 



The City of Copenhagen 

other door appears the device of his good queen — 
good Queen Sophia of Mecklenburg — ' Meine Hoff- 
nung zu Gott allein' (My hope is in God alone). 
Within the dungeon of the corner tower, that of the 
Restoration, adjoining the wine-cellars of Christian 
IV., where a jolly fat tun carved in stone above the 
entrance leaves no doubt of its identity, was situated 
the torture-chamber in days gone by. 

After the peace of 1659, when Skaane was lost to 
Denmark forever, the windows of Kronborg Castle, 
which commanded a view of the Swedish coast, were 
walled up, to exclude a sight which caused so many 
heart-burnings." 

Here, too, are shown the apartments of the young 
Queen of Christian VII. Caroline Matilda, who 
was brought here from Fredricksberg in the middle 
of the night and expected to be executed. From the 
octagonal closet of the lighthouse tower she strained 
her eyes day by day to watch for the coming of the 
English fleet that she heard was on its way to rescue 
her. Her son Frederick VI. never visited Elsinore 
— the memory of his mother's imprisonment was 
too painful; and so the royal apartments were aban- 
doned as a Court residence and all the furniture re- 
moved or destroyed. 

All associations, however, pale before the romantic 
story of Hamlet. The whole Castle of Kronborg 
seems to belong to him. The Flag Battery, to the 
left of the west entrance, is " the platform before the 
Castle," where Shakespeare makes Hamlet watch 
in company with his friends, Horatio and Marcellus, 

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A Guide to Cities 

for his father's Ghost in the " nipping and eager 
air " of midnight, while the sounds of revelry were 
heard from within the Castle, where the King kept 
wassail. 

In the park of Marienlyst Castle, not far away, 
Hamlet's tomb, overshadowed by beeches, is shown to 
the traveller, who may believe it or not, as he pleases. 
From the north-west tower an extensive view may be 
had of the wooded coast of Zealand and of the lovely 
Sound from Kullen to the island of Hveen. 

" The Sound ! " exclaims a Danish writer, Her- 
man Bang. " There is no Dane but yearns for it, 
and no stranger who, once having seen it, ever for- 
gets it. See it on a day in July, when the water is 
violet-blue, and the woods on the coast along which 
we are sailing have turned dark, and the villas are 
lost among gardens thick with roses, and the sky is 
like a deep still ocean. Or see it towards autumn 
when the billows are dark and tipped with white, 
when the woods look grave, as though they were 
guarding dark secrets, and the sky is like glass. 
Every outline is sharp as though it were lighted up. 
The Hermitage in the midst of its beautiful plain, 
the houses on the slopes of Skodsborg, and, a long 
way further down, the massive dome of the Marble 
Church towering above everything else — these all 
shine ; while the Sound itself is dark and the woods 
are as solemn as the portals of a church. 

" Then the Sound is beautiful. 

" Then one understands why all Danes long to 
dwell here ; why the capital of Denmark was founded 

196 



The City of Copenhagen 

here ; and why all her poets have sung the praises of 
these waters and this coast." 

When Kronhorg was built, both sides of the Sound 
belonged to Denmark. All ships were obliged to 
stop at Elsinore to pay the Sound duties. These 
were removed in 1857; and in consequence Elsinore 
is now little more than a summer village. 

" Imagine yourself on the deck of a ship sailing 
past Kronborg, past Elsinore, into the Sound, along 
the coast of Zealand, past country house after coun- 
try house, village after village. Behind them all 
stretches the forest — mighty, luxuriant, radiant and 
high, as only a beech forest can be — the belt of the 
Sound. Go ashore where you will. Land, if you 
choose, at Eungsted. You have merely to cross a 
road, and you are in the forest. Not a heavy forest 
of oaks, not a forest of pines in whose stillness the 
birds dare not sing, but a beech forest where it is 
light in spite of the massive tree tops, mild in spite 
of the giant trunks — and full of song; for in the 
beech-wood all the birds sing. 

" We proceed further along the coast of Zealand, 
■ — still from the deck of the steamer seeing country 
house after country house like a fringe. Now they 
group themselves once more into a town. It is 
Vedbceh. Those white banks, those high houses, 
those numerous verandahs — that is Skodsborg, now 
perhaps the most renowned of all the beautiful places 
along the Sound. Elsinore is the Past, Skodsborg 
is the Present of this coast. In front of the slope, 
the great expanse of blue water spreads itself out 

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A Guide to Cities 

with the sky for its border. From the midst of all 
this summer blue a long way out white banks rise. 
That is the island of Hveen where Denmark's great 
son, Tycho Brahe, the astronomer, erected his 
Uranieriborg" 

The villas of Skodsborg, the country homes of 
Copenhagen's wealthy citizens, are embowered in 
flowers and hedges of wild roses. Next come the 
villages of Taarbcek and Klampenborg, on the edge 
of a lovely Deer Park, Dyrehaven, in which stands 
the old royal hunting-lodge, " The Hermitage." 
This was built by Christian VI. in 1736 ; but is now 
turned into a restaurant. It stands on a little rising 
of the ground and overlooks the plain that slopes 
towards the glittering Sound. The Danish races are 
run here in summer, and for a few days the place is 
very gay with sportsmen from Sweden, Norway, 
Denmark and Germany. 

Though the days of royal hunting are over, the 
forest is one enormous preserve fenced in with 
hedges for many miles, and is entered through large 
gates painted red and bearing the royal diadem. 
The enormous herd of deer, with its celebrated white 
stags, belongs to the King, and none but the King's 
keeper is allowed to kill them. 

As we approach Copenhagen, the fortress of 
Trekoner, with its cannon on the ramparts, marks 
the division between the outer and inner roadsteads. 
In the latter, royal yachts are often lying at anchor. 
First, we notice the great Free Port of Copenhagen, 
a masterpiece of engineering, consisting of land re- 

198 



The City of Copenhagen 

claimed from the sea and converted into docks and 
quays in 1893-1894. Ships and steamers ply be- 
tween it and the old Harbour, at the entrance 
of which is situated the Custom House (Toldbod). 
A beautiful promenade, the Langelinie, bordered 
with fine old trees, delights the eye, which also notes 
the many pleasure boats of all descriptions that lie 
in a small protected harbor at this point; for the 
boat and yacht clubs of Copenhagen have their head- 
quarters here. Ship yards, granaries, warehouses, 
the royal dock yard, training ships and the docks of 
the Thingvalla Line that trades with New York, are 
passed, as well as Amalienborg, the royal residence. 
The dome that shines in the sunlight above the town 
is Frederick Church. Just above a bridge, Knip- 
pelsbro, which connects Copenhagen with the old 
suburb of Christianshavn, on the island of Amager, 
our boat enters the canal that surrounds the island 
of Slotsholmen. We pass the fish-market on Gammel 
Strand and arrive at the harbour, Kalvebodstrand, 
with the suburb of Vesterbro in the distance, and in 
front of us an extensive view of the Baltic. 

Copenhagen, " the Merchants' Haven," is situated 
on the island, Zealand, in the Sound, which is here 
about fifteen miles wide, and the island of Amager, 
or Amah, which is separated from Zealand by a nar- 
row arm of the Baltic which forms a splendid har- 
bor. The city proper is on Zealand and the town on 
Amager is known as Christianshavn and these are 
connected by the bridges called Langebro and Knip- 
pelsbro. 

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A Guide to Cities 

The island of Amager is the nursery garden of 
Copenhagen, and upon it dwell descendants of the 
Dutch colonists who settled here in 1516, and who 
have preserved their national costumes, manners and 
customs. 

In all European cities, there is one principal 
square around which life concentrates and circulates. 
In Copenhagen, it is Kongens Nytorv (the King's 
New Market), an irregular space in the very heart 
of the old city, the centre of which is adorned with 
an equestrian statue of Christian V., popularly 
called Hesten (the Horse). From Kongens Nytorv 
thirteen streets radiate in various directions; and 
around the square are situated many fashionable 
hotels, cafes, restaurants, business offices, the Royal 
Theatre and Charlottenborg. The latter was built in 
1672, and purchased in 1700 by Queen Charlotte 
Amelia for a residence. Since 1754, it has been the 
home of the Royal Academy of Art. Beyond Char- 
lottenborg, the Nyhavn Kanal, an arm of the Har- 
bour, bordered with quaint gabled houses, takes the 
visitor into a bygone period. It is one of the most 
interesting spots in the city. 

Bredgade, leading north out of Kongens Nytorv, 
is the most fashionable street for residences. On the 
right and fronting Amalienborg-Plads, or Square, is 
Amalienborg, the residence of the King of Denmark. 
On Bredgade stand many other palaces, and town 
houses of royal and noble personages. We are now 
in the very centre of elegance and fashion. 

The Amalienborg-Plads is as handsome and aris- 
200 



,...--.■;-' 




Copyright, 1910, by Underwood & Underwood. 

PALACE SQUARE, COPENHAGEN 



The City of Copenhagen 

tocratic a square as may be found in Europe. An 
equestrian statue of Frederick V. ornaments the 
centre; and not far away rises the noble dome of 
Frederick's Church. Four similar rococo buildings 
enclose the Square originally intended for separate 
palaces, but now together form the Royal Palace, 
Amalienborg. The King lives in the building on 
the south-east, originally built for Count Moltke ; the 
Coronation and other State rooms are in the build- 
ing on the south-west ; the Crown Prince lives in the 
north-east; and the Minister of the Exterior in the 
north-west. 

A visitor in 1908 says : 

" Here tourists congregate at the hour of 12 A. M., 
to see the guard changed. On a bright day, when 
this circle of rococo palaces has a vivid blue sky as 
a background, Amalienborg is worth a visit. Its 
charm lies in its air of apartness from the rest of 
the world. It is like a palace in a fairy tale. The 
long, narrow scarlet sentry-boxes at each corner look 
hardly large enough to hold real soldiers. One finds 
oneself wishing that a peacock would appear from 
somewhere, with tail outspread, across the grey 
courtyard. It is the one touch lacking to make 
Amalienborg quite a fairy palace." 

On Bredgade are the Surgeons' Hall, one of the 
finest buildings in Copenhagen; King Frederick's 
Hospital; the Houses of the Rigsdag, the Danish 
Parliament; the Russian Church with its three gilt 
onion-shaped cupolas; and the palace of Count 
Schimmelmann, now the K oncer t Palais. 

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A Guide to Cities 

From Bredgade, St. Annae-Plads, a wide avenue, 
runs down to the harbor. The Amalie-Gade starts 
from the St. Annae-Plads, and runs through the 
Amalienborg-Plads in straight line to the Esplanade. 
Bredgade, running parallel to Amalie-Gade, also 
enters the Esplanade, with its pretty grounds, north 
of which is the Citadel of Frederikshavn, surrounded 
by a broad moat. On the right, and extending about 
a mile north is the enchanting promenade, Lange- 
linie. 

P. C. V. Hansen, a Dane, exclaims with en- 
thusiasm : 

" Not many towns can boast of its equal. The 
water that washes against this promenade is not that 
of a quiet lake; it is the salt water of the Sound, 
where steamers, war-ships, moving, or at anchor, 
take the place of swans and small boats. The rising 
road leading from the town to Langelinie passes be- 
tween splendid beds of roses; from the top of the 
rise there is a charming view. On the one side lies 
the English Church of St. Albans, a beautiful Gothic 
edifice with a shady avenue in front, and at the back 
the old moat of the Kastel which reflects the slender 
beauty of the building in its dark waters. Beyond 
the moat is the rampart of the Kastel, with its 
splendid leafy old trees. On the other side, beyond 
the promenade, one sees the custom-house and the 
harbor, and looking townwards, the royal residential 
palace of Amalienborg is visible. 

" On Langelinie romance and reality meet. On 
the left hand is the rampart of the Kastel, a bit of 

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The City of Copenhagen 

genuine old romance which carries our thoughts far 
away from the modern surroundings. On the right 
hand we have the roadstead, alive with ships, and the 
large ship-yards with their ceaseless noise of ham- 
mering — a picture of bustling modern life. As we 
proceed, the Free Port comes in view ; little by little 
the ramparts disappear, hidden behind the ware- 
houses — the reality of life has vanquished romance. 

" The last portion of the promenade, a straight, 
narrow line passes over the roofs of some of the ware- 
houses of the Free Port. To the one side, far be- 
low, lies the huge Free Port, with its stirring life; 
and to the other, just below the promenade, is the 
Sound with the naval fortifications, and on the 
horizon the island of Hveen and the coast of Sweden. 
It is fresh and bracing out here, and the view from 
the lighthouse at the end of the walk is magnificent. 

" Langelinie should be seen on a Sunday morning 
in spring, when the whole of Copenhagen turns out 
to show off the new toilettes, when there is scarcely 
elbow room for walkers, when the drive is crowded 
with smart carriages, when there is not an empty 
chair in the restaurant pavilion, and every seat 
along the promenade is occupied. But it is at its 
very best on a summer evening, when the noise from 
the Free Port and the ship-yards has subsided, when 
the waves of the Sound are at rest, and the dark 
forms of the ships stand out in silhouette against the 
starry night sky. Then a walk along Langelinie is 
a poem — a poem set to music by the nightingale in 
the trees of the old ramparts, or the ship's boy with 

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A Guide to Cities 

his melancholy concertina on some vessel in the 
roads." 

Leading west from Kongens Nytorv, the wide 
boulevard called GotJiers-Gade, takes us to the Botan- 
ical Gardens, laid out in 1871-1874 on the site of 
the old ramparts. On the way, we pass the Palace 
of Rosenborg and its famous grounds. 

This lovely park, called the King's Garden, was 
laid out at the beginning of the Seventeenth Century 
by Christian IV. and has all the charm of antiquity. 
The fountain in the centre daily attracts the chil- 
dren and nursemaids of Copenhagen. Avenues of 
old trees, beautiful flower beds and a few old pavil- 
ions and statues form other attractions. Here is 
the famous statue of Hans Christian Andersen, 
seated, and supposed to be telling a fairy-tale. 

Rosenborg Castle is one of the most characteristic 
buildings in Copenhagen. When Christian IV. 
built it in 1604-1610, it was outside of the city, 
and enclosed by the ramparts of Copenhagen, now 
changed into boulevards. It was used as a royal 
residence until the beginning of the Nineteenth Cen- 
tury. The castle is built in the style of the Dutch 
Renaissance and has several towers, the highest of 
which is three hundred feet and ends in three grad- 
uated cupolas, or lanterns, composed of open-work 
arches and placed one above the other. Since the 
time of King Frederick III. (1648-1670), Rosen- 
borg has been used as a storehouse for the treasures 
of the royal family — robes, jewels, weapons, and 
other valuables. The collection was increased from 

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The City of Copenhagen 

other royal palaces and turned into a museum in 
1863. The rooms have been arranged and furnished 
in various styles. 

" In passing through the castle," writes P. Brock, 
" we get a glimpse of the successive periods of culture 
of the last three centuries, and of the history of 
Denmark at those periods. The Danish national 
song, " King Christian stood by the lofty mast," 
which celebrates the naval battle of Fehmern in the 
Baltic July 1, 1644, in which Christian IV. was 
wounded, is illustrated in the museum by such na- 
tional relics as pieces of the suit which he wore on 
board the line-of-battle ship, The Trinity, when he 
was wounded — still stained with his blood — and two 
small gold enamelled hands, one holding a piece of 
the Swedish iron cannon-ball, and the other a piece 
of the Danish bronze cannon-ball by which his fore- 
head and eye were struck. These were worn as ear- 
pendants by one of his daughters in memory of the 
battle. 

" The Knights' Hall is very imposing ; its mag- 
nificent arched stucco ceiling dates from the begin- 
ning of the Eighteenth Century; the twelve large 
pieces of tapestry on the walls, representing the most 
important events of the Scanian war (1675-1679), 
were woven in the manufactory of the Dutchman, 
Bernt van der Eichen, in Denmark, towards the end 
of the Seventeenth Century. In front of the great 
fireplace at the northern end of the hall is a velvet 
canopy, underneath which are the coronation chairs 
of the king and queen; the king's is made of nar- 

205 



A Guide to Cities 

whal-horn and adorned with eight allegorical figures ; 
the queen's is covered with solid silver and adorned 
with two figures which represent the Fear of God and 
Charity. Before the coronation chairs stand three 
silver lions, representing the Sound, the Great Belt 
and the Little Belt. At the opposite end of the hall 
is the royal silver-gilt baptismal font, which is still 
used. Two tower rooms, adjoining the Knights' 
Hall, contain fine collections of very rare old Vene- 
tian glass, and of Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Dres- 
den, French, Swedish and Danish porcelain." 

In Rosenborg are also exhibited specimens of the 
insignia of the Order of the Elephant, the highest 
Danish order, founded in 1457 and renewed in 
1693 ; and the mysterious Oldenburg Horn of 1474. 

A legend says that one day in 989, when Count 
Otto I. of Oldenburg was hunting in the forest, a 
lovely fairy appeared before him with this drinking- 
horn. She promised him every fortune if he 
emptied it and every misfortune if he refused to do 
so. The knight threw away the contents and kept the 
horn, notwithstanding the fairy's entreaties to give 
it back to her. It is a pity to spoil such a pretty 
story, but the truth is that the Oldenburg Horn was 
made by German artists for Christian I. of Denmark 
in 1479 when he visited Cologne to reconcile Charles 
the Bold, Duke of Burgundy and the Emperor Fred- 
erick III. It is made of silver, and is richly gilt 
and ornamented with coats-of-arms of Denmark, the 
Empire and Burgundy, and other devices illustrating 
King Christian's mission. If this had been success- 

206 



The City of Copenhagen 

ful, his intention was to present it to the Chapel of 
the Holy Kings in the Cologne Cathedral; but the 
king being unsuccessful, he kept the treasure. The 
Oldenburg Horn remained in the family castle of 
Oldenburg for two hundred years and was subse- 
quently brought to Copenhagen. 

There are many other splendid gold and silver 
drinking-horns of various periods and a valued relic 
of the days of Christian V., the Wismar Cup of 
beautifully worked crystal. In Kosenborg is also 
the fine collection of Venetian glass brought home 
from Italy by Frederick IY. — perhaps the finest of 
its kind in existence ; and there is also a wonderful 
collection of porcelain, particularly of old Dresden 
and blue Sevres. 

Rosenborg faces a wide boulevard, Ostervolds- 
Gade on which stands the Observatory with a statue 
of the great Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe, in 
front; and a little farther away the Art Museum. 
Ostervolds-Gade continues on the north until it 
reaches the Citadel. 

Going south its continuation Norrevolgade leads 
past Orsted Park, the most ornamental of Copen- 
hagen's Hve parks. The landscape gardener has 
done his best here, having arranged beautiful vistas, 
artistically composed clumps of trees and shrubs, 
lawns with brilliant flower beds, and lakes on which 
swans are seen in great numbers. The park is also 
famous for its collection of bronze statues, many of 
which are copies of famous Greek sculpture from 
the Vatican, the Louvre, Florence and Naples. 

207 



A Guide to Cities 

There is also a bronze statue of the famous Dane, 
Hans Christian Orsted, for whom the park was 
named, famous for his discoveries in electricity. 

Between the old town and the suburbs, three con- 
tinuous lakes form a sort of boundary, and their 
banks are dotted with many attractive villas. On 
the town side, there is a wide promenade with trees 
and seats by the edge of the water on which in- 
numerable swans float in the spring and summer. 
The lakes are usually filled with pleasure boats, and 
several bridges cross the lakes into the populous 
suburb of Norrebro. On Queen Louise's Bridge a 
continuous stream of carriages, wagons, omnibuses, 
bicycles, electric cars and foot-passengers makes this 
one of the best spots to study the street life of Copen- 
hagen. From Queen Louise's Bridge Gothers-Gade 
leads without a turn to Kongens ISTytorv. 

On the west of Kongens Nytorv runs Copen- 
hagen's most fashionable promenade Oster Gade, 
also called the Stroget, or Strbgtid, always thronged 
with people, but gayest in the afternoon from two to 
four. At the junction of Oster Gade and Amager- 
torv (which is really a continuation of that street), 
is a square, or open space, called Hbjbro-Plads, also 
a centre of busy life. 

" This thoroughfare is only just wide enough to 
allow the red omnibuses, which ply up and down it 
between Kongens Nytorv and the Raadhuis-Plads, to 
pass each other. The trams which connect these two 
squares have to go round over Slotsholmen. Yet, in 
spite of its narrowness, this is the favorite promenade 

208 



The City of Copenhagen 

of the citizens of Copenhagen, who may have walked 
np and down here between the shore with its market 
and the Frue Kirhe above, before the days of Absa- 
lom Here is the fashionable promenade during 
certain hours of the day, and here are the best shops, 
amongst them the emporium for the famous Royal 
Danish Porcelain. An astonishing number are de- 
voted to fancy goods. If presents are weighing on 
our travellers' minds — and on what travellers are 
they not — a visit to one of these shops will remove 
the load without necessarily lightening the purses or 
filling up their boxes to any alarming extent. For 
here are brooches, miniature flags, Finnish spoons, 
leather goods and silver goods of all kinds, and pins 
— shamrock-headed, mistletoe-headed, flag-headed, 
snake-headed pins, — all small, almost all inexpensive, 
and, best of all from the traveller's point of view, 
neither to be bought nor priced in our own islands. 
In spite of the fascinating fancy-shops a walk 
through this busy thoroughfare is not an unmixed 
pleasure. The Danes have a curious habit of 
jostling one another, and they do not spare the pass- 
ing traveller." * 

From Amagertorv, passing down Yimmelskaftet 
we come to Gammeltorv and Nytorv (the Old and 
New Market) where stand some solid old mercantile 
houses, and the Old Town Hall, not so very old 
after all, as it was only erected in 1805-1815. In 
the Gammeltorv is a fountain, which on the birth- 
days of the King and Queen, according to an old 
* F. M. Butlin. 
209 



A Guide to Cities 

custom, throws up golden balls. In the vicinity are 
the University; the University Library, with its 
great treasures, including many Persian and Indian 
MSS. ; the Church of the Trinity ; and the Church of 
Our Lady, the Metropolitan Church of Denmark. 

Everybody goes to see the Church of the Trinity, 
on account of its Round Tower (116 feet high). 
This famous tower was built by Christian IV. for 
an observatory, and was used for this purpose for 
200 years. It is composed of two hollow cylinders 
between which winds a spiral inclined plane from 
the street to the summit, and of such easy ascent that 
the Empress Catherine of Russia ascended it in 
1716, in a coach and four, preceded by her husband, 
Peter the Great, on horseback. There is a perfect 
panoramic view of the city to be had from the plat- 
form at the top. 

The Church of Our Lady also deserves a visit. 
The simple structure built in 1811-1820 to replace 
the magnificent Erue Kirke with its spire 385 
high, destroyed by the English in 1807, is heavy and 
bare in style. The chief entrance is a Doric portal 
with six columns. The church is a kind of basilica 
and is lighted from above ; and the light falls on grey 
walls and columns without any colored decorations. 
Visitors are attracted here especially to see the 
statues designed and partly made by Thorvaldsen. 
Erom this point we can take another busy street, 
Kjobmager Gade, if we like, back to Hojbro Plads. 

Erom the Gammeltorv, Frederiksberg Gade will 
take us to another open space, the Raadhuis-Plads. 

210 



The City of Copenhagen 

Tivoli is one of the institutions of Copenhagen. 
It was established in 1843 in grounds that originally 
formed part of the fortifications. Trees, lawns, 
shrubs, flower-beds, a large lake and rural walks 
render Tivoli a place of beauty; and restaurants, 
cafes, concert halls, orchestras, variety shows, panto- 
mimes, an open-air theatre, acrobats, jugglers, rope- 
dancers, clowns, athletes, balloon ascensions, illumi- 
nations and fireworks contribute to its popularity. 
A son of Copenhagen, Albert Gnudzmann, informs 
us that " Tivoli is resorted to by persons of all ranks 
and of all ages. The bearers of the most honored 
names among the aristocracy and the upper middle 
class are met side by side with workmen and peasants 
from Zealand and the south of Sweden; here come 
solitary old people and children who have scarcely 
learned to walk, the families of sedate citizens and 
careless students, parents with their children, and 
young men with their sweethearts. And Tivoli is 
a great cornucopia which offers something to each 
one. There is high art and juggling; there is the 
peaceful idyll and the brilliant festival. Its pro- 
gramme is a gamut of the most varied amusements, 
ranging from roundabouts and swings, shooting- 
galleries and trials of strength to performances by 
the most renowned artists. 

" At four o'clock, the cannon salute announces 
that Tivoli's variegated pleasures are to begin. 
During the next few hours people stream in thou- 
sands through the stately portal — an expectant 
crowd, dressed in its Sunday best, and conversing in 

211 



A Guide to Cities 

foreign tongues as well as in the dialects of all 
parts of the country. Sometimes there is a crush 
outside, but, once in, the stream divides itself and 
spreads over the vast grounds. 

" On gala evenings, it is perhaps finest by the lake, 
bordered with thousands of lamps, which are mir- 
rored on its still surface. The crowd promenades in 
ceaseless march round its margin, and on the water 
the regular stroke of the oars is heard. Boats glide 
continually to and fro, swarming round a full-rigged 
frigate which lies moored in the middle of the lake. 
This frigate is an exact copy of King Christian 
IV.'s battle ship Trefoldigheden (The Trinity) ; but 
accommodates in its cabin what its venerable exterior 
would never suggest — a variety entertainment. This 
is of a comparatively primitive type, and cannot 
compete with its distinguished colleague, the Arena 
Theatre, on the other side of the lake." 

Let us now see what a traveller in 1909, F. M. 
Butlin, has to say: 

" It is only in the evening that the Tivoli be- 
comes itself. On holidays and anniversaries of 
which the most important is its own birthday, when 
the gardens are illuminated with thousands of fairy 
lamps, which outline the slender spires of the con- 
cert hall, turning it into a veritable fairy palace, 
with the many-colored waters of the fountain as a 
fitting foreground ; when the dark groves are lighted 
up with vistas of many-colored arches, then is the 
time to visit the Tivoli. Not far from the entrance, 
the ground slopes down to the quaint little panto- 

212 



The City of Copenhagen 

mime theatre, where, in place of a curtain, a mag- 
nificent peacock furls and unfurls its colossal tail. 
Performances are given at intervals; pantomimes, 
short ballets, living pictures and dumb shows of all 
kinds. Between times a band performs in another 
part of the grounds, but the musical centre is the 
concert hall. Here the music is of the best. The 
body of the hall is generally crowded, while above 
in the broad galleries and out on the terrace, supper 
is going on." 

On Kaadhuis-Plads, formerly the Straw market, 
a busy centre for traffic between the inner town and 
the suburb of Frederiksberg, stands the new Town 
Hall built in the Dutch Renaissance style in 1892- 
1900, and adorned with bronze figures in niches and 
with tall towers at each corner. The street on the 
west is Vesterbro Passage, the beginning of Vester- 
bro-Gade, one of the liveliest streets of the city. 
Here Tivoli lies to the south. In this district are 
the Industrial Art Museum, and the 'New, or Ny- 
Carlsberg Glyptothek. 

Frederiksberg Allee, formerly the high road con- 
necting Copenhagen with the village of Frederiks- 
berg on the west (which is now, however, a part of 
Copenhagen), is one of the finest avenues and most 
frequented promenades. Frederiksberg Allee runs 
out to Frederiksberg Have the great park, separated 
from another park, the Sondermarken, by a high 
road. These parks each cover an area of about 
ninety acres and are favorite resorts — especially on 
Sundays for the working-people, tradesmen and 

213 



A Guide to Cities 

their families, who as a rule bring their baskets of 
lunch and remain all day, lying on the grass or 
playing games. 

Erederiksberg Park is particularly interesting on 
account of its old Castle, which is now a military 
school. Here dwelt Queen Caroline Matilda, sister 
of George III. of England, who was married to 
Christian VII. at the age of fifteen; and here she 
lived, after the King lost his mind, with the Prime 
Minister Struensee, before she was taken to Kron- 
berg. 

The two old royal summer houses — one built in 
the Swiss style and the other in the Chinese — are 
still in existence and have a very picturesque effect 
among the trees. Fine avenues of beech, lime and 
chestnut trees lead to the Castle, near which is the 
entrance to the Zoological Gardens. These are 
among the best in Europe. Their specialty is a col- 
lection of Arctic animals. Erom " Copenhagen 
Hill " there is an extended view of the distant city. 

The Sondermarken is like a wood; and parts of 
it are quite wild, without roads or pathways. 

In the grounds of the Ny-Carlsberg Brewery, on 
the south of Sondermarken, stands the Old Glypto- 
thek, containing a very complete collection of an- 
cient Greek and Roman sculpture, the gift of Mr. 
Carl Jacobsen, the brewer. The Ny-Carlsberg Glyp- 
thothek, also the gift of Mr. Jacobsen, in quite a 
different part of Copenhagen — east of Tivoli — is de- 
voted to modern sculpture, particularly French and 
Danish. 

214 



The City of Copenhagen 

Going back now once more to Kongens Nytorv 
and taking the Royal Theatre for a starting-point, 
Holmens Kanal will lead us to the Palace Bridge, 
on the left of which stands Holmens Kirche, built 
in the Seventeenth Century, and well restored, con- 
taining a fine carved altar and pulpit, and monu- 
ments to naval heroes. 

The Palace Bridge takes us directly to Christian- 
borg on the island of Slotsholmen. This palace was 
built by Christian VI. in 1733-1740, and having 
been several times destroyed by fire, is practically a 
ruin, only slightly rebuilt. In the grounds are 
statues of Wisdom, Health, Justice and Strength, 
by Thorvaldsen. The island of Slotsholmen, which 
was fortified by Bishop Axel in 1168, forms a small 
quarter of its own. In addition to the Palace the 
chief buildings are the Royal Library, the Arsenal, 
the Exchange and the Thorvaldsen Museum. 

The Thorvaldsen Museum is one of the most pe- 
culiar buildings in Copenhagen, and contains a com- 
plete collection of this sculptor's works. It is situ- 
ated on the quay, and was originally one of the 
Royal stables, which was converted into a sombre 
edifice, built in the style of an Etruscan tomb, and 
serving the double purpose of museum and tomb; 
for in an inner court, enclosed with high walls, 
richly decorated in antique style, with palms, deli- 
cate foliage, wreaths, vases and tripods, is the grave 
of Thorvaldsen open to the sunshine, stars of 
heaven and the rain and snow from the passing 
clouds. 

215 



A Guide to Cities 

Thorvaldsen was almost as great an idol with the 
Danes as Hans Christian Andersen. He was the 
son of an Icelander, a ship's carpenter and carver of 
figure-heads for ships, who settled in Copenhagen. 
The little boy, who had learned carving from his 
father, entered the Academy of Art; and, in 1793, 
he won the grand prize which enabled him to go 
to Rome. There he lived for twenty-two years. He 
returned to Copenhagen for a visit in 1819, and 
went back to Rome, where he lived for nineteen more 
years. In 1838, he went back to Copenhagen where 
he died in 1844. 

Thorvaldsen was the most celebrated sculptor of 
his day and produced more than five hundred works, 
all in the style of ancient Greek art. His fellow- 
countrymen have honored his memory by this mu- 
seum, which exhibits both his talent and his in- 
dustry. 

There are still several museums to visit. The 
National Museum, housed in the old Prince's Pal- 
ace, a royal residence built in 1744, was founded 
in 1807, and now contains more than 70,000 objects. 
The Danish collection consists of two divisions : the 
Prehistoric from the Stone Age (about 3000 b.c. to 
about 1000 a.d.), and the Historic Collection (from 
the Middle Ages to about 1660). 

The first is probably the most complete collection 
of its kind in the world. Here you may see the 
rude tools and weapons of bone and flint found in 
mounds on the Danish coast that are known as 
" Kitchen-middens," and there is also a fragment of 

216 



The City of Copenhagen 

one of these mounds. Then there are objects of the 
later Stone Age, — daggers and spear-heads and am- 
ber beads and other ornaments. The Bronze Age is 
also fully represented. There are hundreds of 
swords and female ornaments, miniature boats made 
of thin gold, a bronze-mounted chariot, splendid 
shields and men's and women's clothing found in 
ancient oak coffins in Jutland. Particularly inter- 
esting are the relics of the Viking period, consist- 
ing of gold and silver drinking-horns, bracelets and 
other ornaments, ring-money and horse-trappings. 
In the modern rooms, we find furniture and tapes- 
try from Kronborg Castle; and a superb carved bed 
of state, dating from the time of Christian IV. An- 
other department in this museum is the Ethnograph- 
ical Collection, also one of the most complete in 
Europe. Greenland and India are extremely well 
represented. There is also a royal collection of coins 
and medals, containing more than thirty thousand 
articles. 

The Art Museum, situated beyond the Botanical 
Gardens and built in 1891-95, contains the national 
collection of pictures, sculptures and engraving. The 
gallery of old pictures, due largely to Frederick V., 
has some splendid works. The Dutch and Flemish 
painters are the best represented, particularly Rem- 
brandt and his pupils — Gerard Dow, Flinck, Bol, 
Victoors, Koninck, Fabritius and Aert van Gelder. 

The collection of Modern Paintings is devoted to 
Danish Art from the end of the Eighteenth Century 
to the present day. The Sculpture Gallery exhibits 

217 



A Guide to Cities 

the Danish sculptors from the time of Thorvaldsen 
to the present. 

The Danish Folkemuseum also is a highly inter- 
esting collection that illustrates the development of 
civilization. One section represents peasant life; 
and separate rooms are fitted up in correct local 
style. Several old wooden houses have been re- 
moved here. There is also a collection of old Danish 
silver, and another of ancient female ornaments 
from Scania. 

The Industrial Art Museum in the Vestre Boule- 
vard exhibits the arts and crafts of Denmark. The 
collection of china is of particular interest. The 
Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory, started 
in 1775, naturally produced both useful and orna- 
mented china in the Rococo style, which was going 
out of fashion, and the Louis XVI., which was com- 
ing into vogue. The so-called Muschel ware, the 
blue pattern of which is an adaptation of a Japanese 
flower design, is the most famous. Among the other 
specimens of artistic work are carvings, furniture 
and book bindings. 

The Knippelsbro takes us across the harbor from 
Slotsholmen to Christianshavn, built by Christian 
IV., which still preserves its ancient character, and 
may be said to form a link between Copenhagen and 
the country. It still can show many fine old build- 
ings, the homes of merchant princes. The Church 
of Our Saviour (Vor Frelsers Kirhe) erected in 
1749, deserves a visit. A winding staircase (397 
steps) ascends to the top of the curious twisted spire 

218 



The City of Copenhagen 

on which is a statue of the Kedeemer (popularly 
called "Manden"). 

In our walks around Copenhagen, you have doubt- 
less noticed the peculiar architecture of which 
pointed gables and twisted spires (the spire of the 
Exchange is composed of four dragons whose tails 
are interwoven) are the most striking features. 
These fantastic buildings which look like the homes 
of the kings and queens, giants and ogres of fairy- 
tales, were, for the most part, built during the reign 
of Denmark's most popular king, and it is very sin- 
gular to note that while fires and sieges destroyed 
much that was built after these, they spared his sum- 
mer palace, Rosenborg, his Arsenal, his Round 
Tower, the college he built for poor students, and 
the Nyboder cottages he built for sailors. 

" Two distinct building periods have given Copen- 
hagen its architectural character. The first was 
during the reign of the royal builder Christian IV., 
in the first half of the Seventeenth Century. The 
second was during the last half of the Eighteenth 
Century, an intermediate stage between the Rococo 
and the Empire style. The nobility and the great 
merchants were then the ruling powers, and in Hars- 
dorff Copenhagen possessed an architect whose gen- 
ius and whose fine appreciation of antique art were 
perhaps unequalled in Europe. To get an adequate 
impression of Christian IV. 's architecture — an in- 
dependent treatment of the German and Dutch Re- 
naissance style — one should first examine the grace- 
ful Rosenborg Chateau with its slender towers, so 

219 



A Guide to Cities 

picturesquely placed amidst delightful gardens; and 
then go on to Hojbro-Plads, where the peasant- 
women from Amak, in their hereditary Dutch cos- 
tume, sit selling fruit, vegetables and flowers, whilst 
Holmen's Church in the background and the fine 
Exchange with its fantastic dragon-spire, eloquently 
witness to their royal builder's artistic taste and gift 
of attracting the right men to his service." * 

One of the striking features in Copenhagen is the 
number of cafes on the streets, with their bright 
awnings for shade and their screens of ivy. People 
live out-of-doors during the brief and delightful 
summer season, and in every garden of every house 
you see a miniature summer house and a rustic table 
and chairs. The afternoon bite is generally taken 
out-of-doors. Hours are rather early, and the living 
simple. Tea or coffee and bread is the breakfast, 
and luncheon at noon the first real meal. The din- 
ner hour is from three to four, except in houses of 
fashion, where it begins at six or half-past six. The 
King dines at seven; and the curtain of the Royal 
Theatre rises at half-past seven. Copenhagen is a 
city of flat dwellers; nearly every house in town, 
and what is stranger still, every villa in the suburbs 
is occupied by several families, and, moreover, the 
people move frequently. There is also a regular 
moving day, similar to New York's first of ]May. 

Christmas is a great festival. On Christmas Eve 
presents are exchanged and everybody has a tree. 
Easter is also kept; and between Easter and Whit- 

* Erik Schiodte. 
220 



The City of Copenhagen 

suntide, the fourth Friday after Easter is called the 
Great Day of Prayer (Store Bededag). On the 
evening before the great feature of luncheon and 
supper is Smorrebrod, which some people wrongly 
call a sandwich. It might be described as a sand- 
wich without the top slice of bread. The slice of 
bread is buttered and on it is laid a piece of meat, 
lobster, salted herring, salmon, cheese, or hard- 
boiled eggs. Another national dish is bllebrbd, com- 
posed of black bread and beer, cream and salt her- 
rings and slices of raw onions. 

On this day the Church bells ring, and everybody 
promenades on the Langelinie, dressed in his or her 
new spring clothes, as they used to walk on the ram- 
parts in olden times. On this evening, the Danes 
also eat a special bread called Varme Hveder. Whit 
Monday is the greatest holiday in the year; and 
Copenhagen Hill in Frederiks Park is thronged 
with towns-people to see the sun rise and " see it 
dance." With the exception of the peasants that 
congregate in the fish and flower markets, there is 
little to be seen in Copenhagen in the way of national 
costume. 



221 



THE CITY OF STOCKHOLM 

THE VENICE OF THE NORTH 

^TOCKHOLM is one of the most beautiful 
^ cities in Europe. It is situated at the eastern 
outlet of Lake Malar, partly on the mainland and 
partly on nine holms, or islands, in a small arm of 
the Baltic called the Saltjo. Its beauty and its wa- 
terways have given it the name of the " Venice of 
the North/' a sobriquet that it shares with Amster- 
dam. 

Stockholm is a comparatively young city, for Eu- 
rope. The beautiful site was so exposed to pirates 
that it was long neglected; and three inland cities 
were capitals of great importance before Stockholm 
came into existence. These were Bjorko (Isle of 
Birches) on Lake Malar, destroyed before the Elev- 
enth Century; Sigtuna, on an arm of Lake Malar, 
destroyed in the Twelfth Century ; and Upsala. 

Stockholm was founded in 1250 by Birgir Jarl, 
the brother-in-law of King Eric the Halt. Birgir 
built a strong fortress on the hill where the modern 
Palace stands. This was surrounded by walls and 
fortified towers. A Franciscan monastery was built 
on the island of Ridderholm in the Thirteenth Cen- 
tury; and, in the Fourteenth Century, the Hospital 

222 



The City of Stockholm 

of the Holy Ghost was erected on the island of 
Helgeandsholm (Holy Ghost Island). 

Birgir made Stockholm the strongest fortress in 
the country. It was soon able to put an end to the 
depredations of the Finnish pirates who had so long 
desolated the Swedish coasts. The city rapidly grew 
in size, and soon became commercially important. 
The capture of Stockholm in the troubled times of 
warring ambitions was nearly always the blow that 
decided the fate of the whole kingdom. 

In the Middle Ages, the city had close commer- 
cial relations with the Hanseatic towns and was 
dominated by their German merchants until the 
political changes wrought by Gustavus Vasa, since 
whose day the history of Stockholm is only the his- 
tory of Sweden. 

Stockholm has suffered terribly at times from fire 
which spread rapidly owing to the fact that the 
town was built of wood. The notable fires took 
place in 1297, 1407, 1419, 1445, 1458, 1495, 1625, 
1697, 1719, 1723, 1751, 1759, 1802, 1822, and 
1857. It is, therefore, not surprising that few an- 
cient buildings remain. 

The city has also been a prey to siege, famine 
and pestilence; and has been the scene of many 
tragedies. When Margaret of Denmark was invited i 
by the nobles to accept the crown of Sweden and 
King Albert was captured at the Battle of Falkoping, 
Stockholm refused to submit, and the supporters of 
Albert massacred the followers of Margaret in the 
city. Stockholm then suffered a long siege, and held 

223 



A Guide to Cities 

out till 1395. The year 1397 saw Margaret's tri- 
umphal entry into Stockholm. 

Since the crown was not hereditary but elective, 
Sweden suffered almost constantly during the Mid- 
dle Ages through the wars of rival princes. It was 
at the close of this period that the famous " Blood 
Bath " occurred at Stockholm. 

In fighting the invading Danes, Sten Sture was 
mortally wounded at the battle of Bogesund (1520) ; 
and was borne on a sledge over the frozen lakes to 
Stockholm, where he died in a few days. His 
widow, Christina Gyllenstierna, then excited the 
men of Stockholm to resist, and attacked the Danish 
forces. They kept the field, however, and Christian 
II. of Denmark and Norway brought a big fleet to 
the capital. For four months the brave woman held 
the city; but she was compelled by famine and the 
desertion of some of her followers to surrender to a 
cruel and treacherous invader. 

Christian II. was now crowned at Stockholm. 
The solemnities were followed by festivals and tour- 
naments that lasted three days ; and before they were 
over, when Christian was seated on his throne in the 
Knights' Hall, the Archbishop Gustavas Trolle, who 
had been Sten Sture's enemy, entered at a late hour 
and demanded justice against the followers of Sten 
Sture, who had deposed him. Under pretence of 
upholding the honor of the church, Christian or- 
dered the execution of ninety-four persons, most of 
whom were nobles, by which act he thought he would 
secure the devotion of the peasantry. " Stockholm's 

224 



The City of Stockholm 

Blood Bath " was the name given to this wholesale 
execution. " On the 8th of November (1520) at 
dawn, all the gates of the city were closed; loaded 
cannon were planted in the great market-place, and 
guards stationed at every point of the intersecting 
streets. The deathlike silence was broken by the 
sound of the castle bell when the long procession of 
victims marched forth to the place of martyrdom. 

" The Bishop of Skara, one of the prisoners, 
loudly invoked the vengeance of Heaven upon the 
false and perfidious tyrant, who thus sacrificed the 
lives of innocent men at the caprice of suborned and 
perjured judges. The burgomasters of Stockholm 
exhorted their fellow citizens to shake off his de- 
tested yoke and never more to trust his oaths and 
promises. The prelate of Strengnaes, who had 
earliest espoused the cause of Christian, was first 
led forth to execution. As he fell on his knees and 
was about to receive the fatal blow, his chancellor, 
Olaus Petri, accompanied by his brother, Lauren- 
tius, rushed from the crowd to embrace his dying 
master, when the bloody head rolled at his feet. 
Olaus exclaimed against the cruel deed, but he was 
instantly seized, dragged within the circle and would 
infallibly have paid with his life for his temerity, 
had not a spectator who knew the two brothers in 
Wittemberg interposed, declaring that they were not 
natives, but Germans. By this accidental discovery 
were preserved the first apostles of the Reformation 
in Sweden. 

" The slaughter of the other bishops and senators 
225 



A Guide to Cities 

followed ; and among the latter was Erik, the father 
of Gustavus Yasa. The burgomasters next suffered, 
the execrations of their comrades being drowned by 
the noise of the Danish soldiery. The bodies of the 
dead lay for two days and nights unburied in the 
market-place, after which they were removed and 
burned without the city walls. The remains of 
Sture were disinterred and committed to the flames. 
At the intercession of some ladies of the court, his 
widow's life was spared on the payment of a heavy 
ransom ; and she was conducted to Denmark with the 
mother of Gustavus Vasa and several other illus- 
trious women, who were exposed to every hardship 
and indignity which malice or tyranny could inflict. 
The King took his departure from Stockholm after 
having constituted a regency and placed a strong gar- 
rison of Danish, German and Scottish troops in the 
capital." * 

Gustavus Vasa heard the news of the terrible 
" Blood Bath" at Rafsnas, on the Gripsholm fjord, 
not far from Gripsholm Castle, and resolved to de- 
liver his country from the Danish yoke and avenge 
his father's death. He headed a revolt, repeatedly 
defeated the Danes, and took Stockholm in 1523. 
At a Diet held in Strengnas in that year, Gustavus 
was elected King of Sweden. His next task was to 
reform and reorganize the country, exhausted by 
war, and altogether in a very backward and unhappy 
condition. In 1527, he abolished the Roman Cath- 
olic religion; and, in 1529, made the Lutheran the 
* Crichton. 
226 



The City of Stockholm 

established religion. In 1544, the Swedish diet 
made the throne hereditary in his family. 

The descendants of Gustavus Vasa, especially 
Gustavus Adolphus and Charles XII., made the 
name of Sweden renowned throughout Europe. 
Stockholm gradually eclipsed Upsala as the capital, 
and many important events happened within the 
walls. It was at Stockholm that Gustavus Adolphus, 
the greatest soldier of the age and the champion of 
Protestantism, assembled the States in May, 1630, 
and took his little four-year-old daughter, Christina, 
and showed her to his people as their future sover- 
eign. His farewell was spoken in broken accents 
and heard with many tears. His death on the field 
of Liitzen, two and a half years later, plunged Stock- 
holm into deep gloom, as the event was erroneously 
regarded as the ruin of the Protestant cause. How- 
ever, the Chancellor Oxenstiern ably filled the gap; 
and when Christina came to the throne, she soon 
abdicated in favor of her cousin, Charles X., who 
increased the dominions and military glory of 
Sweden. 

Gustavus III. (1746-1792), was born in Stock- 
holm and met a cruel death there. He was an able 
and cultured ruler, but out of sympathy with his 
subjects, who refused to vote money to aid the 
French king on the outbreak of the Revolution. The 
nobles, whose powers he had curbed, conspired 
against him; and, although warned not to attend a 
masked ball at the Opera House he had built, he 
went there and was shot by an ex-officer of the guard, 

227 



A Guide to Cities 

named Ankerstrom. He lingered for thirteen days 
in dreadful agony. 

His son, Gustavus IV., involved the country in 
wars; and under him Sweden lost Finland and 
Pomerania. His English allies and his own people 
finally tired of his wrong-headed policy ; and he was 
forced to abdicate. His uncle, Duke Charles, was 
elected to the crown in 1809. A year later the 
Swedes astonished Europe by asking Napoleon's 
Marshal Bernadotte to become heir to the throne, 
and as the health of Charles XIII. failed in the next 
year, he became practically the ruler. In 1818, he 
ascended the throne as Charles XIV. He is usually 
called " Charles XlV.-John." Sweden prospered 
under Bernadotte, who earned for himself the char- 
acter of a good and wise king. He died in 1844, 
and was succeeded by his son, Oscar I. 

Old Stockholm was built on three islands, the 
Stockholm (City Island) ; Eiddarholm (Knight's 
Island) ; and Helgeandsholm (Holy Ghost Island) ; 
and nearly all the historical buildings are to be 
found here, as well as the new Parliament buildings 
and the Bank. The situation is a very beautiful one. 

An English traveller writes : 

" It was very early when I first looked out on the 
still slumbering city, and it seemed strange to note 
the hush and silence of the night still settled on the 
streets, though the sun had already climbed quite 
high and the water and the white pavements were 
bright with the glitter of a blue and gold day. My 
window faced towards the south, and the morning 

228 




Copyright, 1910, by Underwood & Underwood. 

OLD AND NEW STOCKHOLM FROM KATARINA 
HISSEN 



The City of Stockholm 

sun threw a golden bridge over the sparkling waters 
of the Salts jo up to the white shining wharves of 
the Staden Island. On the left the view ranged to 
the southern portion of the town, the Sodermalm, 
which rises in terraces to a height of two hundred 
feet above the level of the surrounding water. West- 
wards lay the palace, a huge sombre pile standing 
sentinel over the sleeping city, its frowning dark- 
ness relieved by a few points of light caught by its 
windows from the morning sun. Above and beyond 
rose the graceful iron spire of the RiddarJiolm 
church cutting black and clear into the pale blue sky, 
and to the right, in the middle distance, appeared 
the narrow outlet of the Malar, its waters rushing 
and swirling from the higher level of the lake below 
the heavy masonry of the Norrhro, sl granite bridge 
which springs its grey arch from the northern point 
of the Staden Island, linking the old quarter with 
the new. It had certainly a very beautiful aspect, 
this old northern town in the still hours of the early 
summer morning. " 

We will begin our explorations with the islands of 
Staden and Riddarholmen. 

Staden is the very kernel of Stockholm — the 
Town. Upon it stands the Koyal Palace ; the Church 
of St. Nicholas, or Storkyrka, where the kings of 
Sweden are always crowned; and close by the 
Storkyrka, the Exchange, upon the famous old 
square or market-place called the Stor-Torg, the 
scene of the terrible " Blood Bath " of 1520. 

A broad granite quay beginning at the monument 
229 



A Guide to Cities 

to Gustavus III. extends around the east side of the 
island, and here are docked and anchored most of 
the steamers and steam-launches that sail for distant 
ports, or that flit back and forth from island to 
island. On the other side of Staden, just beyond the 
equestrian statue of Charles XIV., at the point 
where the Soderstrom enters the Baltic from Lake 
Malar, begin the markets — Kornhamns Torg (Corn- 
harbor market) ; Malar Market, and the Meat Mar- 
ket. North of the Meat Market, we find Munkbro 
(Monk's Bridge). 

All this side of Staden is therefore devoted to 
market traffic; and, of course, is the place to see the 
arrival of market-boats and peasants in costume. 

Here, too, gather the servants, who generally do 
the buying for the household. The fish-market is a 
floating-wharf in front of the statue of Charles 
XIV. ; and it is interesting to note that the fish are 
brought alive in the boats and kept in tanks until 
they find a purchaser. ISTobody in Sweden would 
think of buying a dead fish. 

On the south, Staden is connected with the suburb 
of Sodermalm by the Slussen, or sluice bridge. 

The most important building on Staden is, of 
course, the Boyal Palace. This noble pile, which is 
built on the highest part of the island, was com- 
pleted by Nicodemus Tessin, son of Count Tessin, 
the original architect, in 1760 ; and it was renovated 
completely in 1898-1901. The basement is granite, 
and the rest brick faced with sandstone. It is a huge 
four square building with wings at each corner, the 

230 



The City of Stockholm 

wings two stories lower than the central structure. 
The inner courtyard is entered by four gateways, one 
in the centre of each fagade. The northwest portal 
facing the I^orrbro bridge dates from 1824—1834 
and is called Lejonbacken, or the hill of lions. It is 
of solid granite and ornamented with two colossal 
lions of bronze. In front of this portal is a large 
platform from which one of the best views of Stock- 
holm is to be enjoyed, looking across Norrbro bridge 
and the northern suburb, and over Malar lake on the 
left. On the opposite side — the southeast — the Pal- 
ace with its colonnade looks towards Slottsbacken, or 
Palace Hill, which slopes down to the quay called 
Bkeppsbro, a broad esplanade where the Eoyal troops 
parade every day at noon, and which is also a Royal 
driveway. At one end of this esplanade stands a 
granite Obelisk, a hundred feet high, erected by 
Gustavus IV. to commemorate the zeal and fidelity 
of the citizens of Stockholm during the war with 
Russia in 1788-1790; and, at the other, a bronze 
statue of Gustavus III., at the spot on which he 
landed in triumph after the hard battle of Svemk- 
sund. 

On the north-east side is a small garden called 
Logarden, or lynx-yard, because at one time a small 
menagerie was kept here. 

It would be impossible for us to inspect the entire 
Palace, for it contains no less than 516 rooms, not 
counting the kitchens and cellars. 

In the gateway and leading to the royal apart- 
ments is a grand staircase of great splendor, orna- 

231 



A Guide to Cities 

merited with paintings, pillars, and niches contain- 
ing porphyry urns, bronze figures holding lamps, 
medallions of ancient kings, etc. The State Apart- 
ments consist of nine splendid rooms, including the 
Life Guard Saloon, the Council Room, the Audience 
Room, the Red Saloon, the Grand Gallery (162 feet 
long) decorated with paintings, marble, stucco and 
gilding, its massive oaken doors with carvings two 
hundred years old, and lighted with 32 chandeliers, 
the Concert Room; and the ball room (118 feet 
long) called the " White Sea," on account of its 
white stucco walls. It is ornamented with gildings, 
mirrors and ceiling-paintings by Italian artists of 
the Eighteenth Century, and illuminated by 14 
chandeliers and 10 candelabra. 

The King's Grand Apartments number twelve, in- 
cluding a dining-room hung with Gobelins tapestry 
presented by Catherine II. of Russia to Gustavus 
III. ; the Pillar Hall, where the conspirators assem- 
bled to dethrone Gustavus IV. ; the Victoria Hall 
and the Porcelain Chamber with their fine old furni- 
ture, china and other treasures; the Apartments of 
Oscar I.; and the Queen's Apartments (Sophia of 
Nassau) containing many objects of interest besides 
old furniture. One of these rooms, called the Hall 
of Mirrors, is among the finest in the Palace. 

A staircase in the gateway towards Slottsbacken 
leads to the Chapel Royal, with its marble columns, 
richly sculptured pulpit, and altar and ceiling paint- 
ings. Near this is situated the Riks-Sal, Imperial 
Hall, or Throne-room, in which the ceremony of 

232 



The City of Stockholm 

opening the Riksdag, or Parliament, takes place on 
Jan. 15. 

The Royal Museum of Armour and Costume, in 
the north-east wing of the Palace, is one of the finest 
collections of its kind in the world. Here are Swed- 
ish flags and standards, equestrian and other suits 
of armor, helmets, saddles, sabres, daggers and 
weapons of all kinds, interesting because they be- 
longed to historical personages, or because they are 
works of art, or enriched with precious stones. The 
sword of Gustavus Vasa, and the helmet of Ivan the 
Terrible of Kussia are also among the famous relics. 
There are also suits of parade armor and jousting 
armor, and a child's suit of armor dating from the 
Seventeenth Century. 

In the Costume Chamber, we find coronation 
robes and mantles, robes of the Seraphim Order 
worn by Gustavus III., the masquerade suit which 
Gustavus III. had on when he was shot at a ball in 
the Royal Theatre in 1792, Rve coronation coaches 
and a state sleigh. 

Near the Palace on the Slottsbacken stands the 
Church of St. Nicholas, commonly called the Stor- 
hyrha, the tower of which (184 feet high) groups 
beautifully with the Palace, as it breaks the long 
straight line of buildings. This is the oldest church 
in Stockholm, and is said to have been founded by 
Birgir Jarl in 1264. The present building dates 
from 1726-1743. In it the Swedish monarchs are 
crowned. The interior consists of a nave with dou- 
ble aisles and a wonderful reredos from Augsburg 

233 



A Guide to Cities 

of carved ebony, ornamented with gold, silver, and 
ivory, representing eighteen scenes from the life of 
Jesus Christ. The pulpit and choir-stalls are elab- 
orately carved; there is a brass candlestick with 
seven branches of Fourteenth Century work, many 
ancient and modern tombs, and two enormous pic- 
tures of the Last Judgment and the Crucifixion by 
Von Ehrenstrahl, who died in Stockholm in 1699. 

On a wide street called Svartman-Gatan, leading 
from the Stor-Torg to the Custom House, stands the 
German Church, called by the Swedes Tyska Kyvka, 
built in the Seventeenth Century and restored in 
1878 after a fire. It was formerly called the Chapel 
of St. Gertrude, and has a fine tapering spire, 222 
feet high, and the only peal of bells in Stockholm. 
German merchants of the Seventeenth Century pre- 
sented the pulpit and altar. The modern stained- 
glass windows came from Munich. 

Many steep little streets, which had better be 
called lanes, lead from the Stor-Torg to Skeppsbro 
on one side and to Vesterldng-Gatan and St or a Ny- 
Gatan on the other; and as they are occupied by 
poor artisans and tradesmen, they contain quaint old 
dwellings ; and here you will find much that is typi- 
cal of Swedish life. 

The wide street, Stora Ny-Gatan will bring us to 
another square called the Riddarhus-Torg, which 
has been the scene of many executions. The statue 
of Gustavus Vasa, erected in 1773 by the Swedish 
nobility on the 250th anniversary of the day he 
entered Stockholm and delivered Sweden from 

234 



The City of Stockholm 

Denmark, stands in front of the Riddarhus, a Sev- 
enteenth Century building of brick and sandstone, 
the fagade of which is ornamented with allegorical 
figures and Latin mottoes. In the room decorated 
with the coats-of-arms of all the Swedish nobility, the 
Chamber of Nobles held its meetings until 1866. 
This room has been the scene of many events. Here 
the first Gustavus received the homage of his coun- 
trymen for having freed his country; here Gustavus 
Adolphus made a great speech to his assembled sub- 
jects before starting on his famous campaign which 
ended with his life on the battlefield of Liitzen ; here 
his infant daughter, Christina, was declared Queen 
of Sweden, when the news came of his death; and 
here Gustavus III. surrounded the rebellious nobles 
with troops and dictated a new constitution. 

Near the Riddarhus is the Rddhus, or Town Hall, 
fronting the square on one side and the water on the 
other. 

A bridge crosses here from the Biddarhus-Torg 
to Riddarholm. We have come here, of course, to 
see the Riddarholms-Kyrka, originally a beautiful 
Franciscan monastery of Gothic architecture. Ow- 
ing to fires, restorations and the additions of burial 
chapels on the sides, its original style has been 
changed; but it is still a picturesque building, and 
the iron-work spire (302 feet high), fortunately light 
and elegant in design which replaces the old one 
destroyed by lightning in 1835, is a landmark that 
the stranger in Stockholm soon learns to recognize. 

Eiddarholms-Kyrka has been the burial-place of 
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A Guide to Cities 

Sweden's kings and heroes since the days of Gus- 
tavus Vasa — it may appropriately be called Swe- 
den's Westminster Abbey. No service is ever per- 
formed here except for royal funerals. 

" The sacred shrine here for every true Protes- 
tant/' says a traveller, " is in the chapel upon the 
right of the altar. There repose the mortal remains 
of the chivalrous and heroic champion of the Prot- 
estant cause, the great Gustavus Adolphus. His 
sarcophagus of green Italian marble, surrounded 
with banners and trophies, bears the appropriate in- 
scription, Moriens triumphavit, for he died as he had 
lived, victorious alike over his own passions and the 
enemies of his faith and country. In the Gustavian 
Chapel are also buried the remains of his queen, 
Maria Eleonora; of Adolphus Frederick and his 
queen Louise Ulrika ; Gustavus III. and his queen 
Sophia Magdalena; Charles XIII. and his queen 
Charlotte ; and other royal personages. In the op- 
posite, or Carolin Chapel, is the tomb of the fiery 
Charles XII. His sarcophagus of white, on a ped- 
estal of green marble, is covered with a lion's skin in 
brass gilt, on which are placed a crown, sceptre and 
sword and the name Charles XII. inscribed. Round 
about hang trophies of his various battles, including 
a standard taken with his own hand in Poland." 
Armorial bearings of deceased knights of the Order 
of the Seraphim are also on the walls, and numerous 
flags, banners and other trophies are displayed above 
the tombs. 

Norrbro Bridge, which was finished in 1806, is 
236 



The City of Stockholm 

375 feet long, and is composed of seven granite 
arches. It crosses the little island Helgeandsholm 
that lies between Staden and the mainland. Half- 
way across this island, two flights of steps lead down 
from the bridge on the east side to the Stromparterre, 
a celebrated cafe the garden of which is washed by 
the waters of the Norrstrom. 

The north end of Norrbro brings us into Gustaf- 
Adolfs-Torg, the big square in which stands an 
equestrian statue of Gustavus Adolphus, erected in 
1796. On the west side of the square stands the 
Crown Prince's Palace; and, on the east, the mag- 
nificent Opera House with a large terrace which 
commands a fine view of the city. 

East of the Opera House is the Kungstraclgard, 
the King's Garden, beautiful with trees and flowers. 
Here, too, is a bronze fountain with figures of sea- 
nymphs listening to the harps of the Nixies, in al- 
lusion to Stockholm's situation between lake and sea. 
The church that rises west of this charming prom- 
enade is Jakobs-Kyrlca, built in the Seventeenth Cen- 
tury, and worth looking at on account of its finely 
carved portal. The organ in this church is consid- 
ered the best in Sweden. The statue of Charles 
XIII. in the middle of the King's Garden repre- 
sents him in the robes of the Seraphim Order: the 
lions at the foot of the monument are much admired. 
The streets on the east side of the King's Garden 
lead to another pleasure ground called Berzelii Park, 
where cafes and restaurants, flowers and shady 
trees attract the public. 

237 



A Guide to Cities 

North-east of this park lies a district known as 
Ostermalm, which is comparatively new. It is de- 
voted almost exclusively to residences of the well-to- 
do citizens. A broad avenue, called Strandvagen, 
bounds this quarter on the south. Here are many 
handsome four-story houses. Strandvagen runs 
along the water's edge, two bays breaking in at this 
point. A handsome bridge, built in 1897, and orna- 
mented with figures from Northern mythology, con- 
nects Strandvagen with the island of Djurgdrden. 

On the west side of Gustaf-Adolfs-Torg we find 
the busiest streets. Drotting-Gatan is a broad ave- 
nue that runs through the whole of the northern dis- 
trict from Strbm-Gatan that faces the water (the 
Norrstrom) to the Observatory. On Drotting- 
Gatan are all the finest shops; and from this fact 
alone we know where to find the fashionable ladies. 
A walk along Drotting-Gatan will show us Stock- 
holm's wealthy citizens in their happiest mood. 

Another wide street leading north from Gustaf- 
Adolfs-Torg is called Regerings-Gatan; and between 
it and Drotting-Gatan is a square called Brunke- 
hergs-Torg, north of which is the tall Telephone 
Tower, that we are always catching sight of where- 
ever we go. 

West of Drotting-Gatan, and not far from the 
Railway station, stands the simple but massive Klara- 
Kyrha. St. Clara's is noted for its beautiful in- 
terior and its lofty steeple (340 feet high). It was 
formerly a convent of Franciscan nuns, built in 
1285 ; but was destroyed by fire. The present 

238 



The City of Stockholm 

church dates from the middle of the Eighteenth Cen- 
tury. 

The Adolf-Fredriks-Kyrka, east of Drotting- 
Gatan, was built about the same time. It is in the 
form of a Greek cross with an octagon tower in the 
centre. The next spire that we see east of this 
church belongs to the J oliannes-Kyrha, a modern 
building. We are always seeing this church, not 
only because it has a very tall tower, but because it 
stands on a rather high hill called Brunkeberg. 

While we are in this neighborhood, we may as 
well visit the delightful park called Humlegard 
(Hop-garden), which, laid out in the Seventeenth 
Century, has been kept up for more than two hun- 
dred years. 

Among the trees, shrubs and flowers stands a mon- 
ument to the great Swedish botanist, Linnaeus, and 
another to Borjeson, who discovered oxygen. 

In Humlegard, the National Library was erected 
in 1870-1876, a fine building that contains about 
380,000 books and 11,000 Mas. Beyond this park 
lies a residential quarter bounded on the north by 
a street called Valhalla-Vag. East of Humlegard 
is the district called Ostermalm. 

The southern quarter of Stockholm, known as 
Sodermalm, separated from the island of Staden by 
the Sbderstrom which links Lake Malar with the 
Baltic, and which is crossed by two iron bridges, is 
very picturesque, because the land on which it is 
built is very high and rocky, in consequence of which 
the views are extended and beautiful. A long wide 

239 



A Guide to Cities 

quay lies east of the bridges along the Baltic; and 
another long wide quay lies west of the bridges on 
Lake Malar; and on each of these quays a steam 
elevator carries passengers through the rock to a 
belvedere at the top for a fine view of Stockholm and 
the surrounding country. The Mosebacken Garden 
(on the Hill of Moses) is also noted for its un- 
rivalled view. The whole of Stockholm is seen from 
the terrace with all its islands, towers, bridges, spires, 
trees, gardens, lakes and harbors with all the ship- 
ping. On the right lies the Baltic, enlivened with 
ships and steam launches flitting from island to is- 
land ; and on the left the beautiful Lake Malar. On 
this hill is a very fine theatre, the Sbdra T eater, and 
there are numerous restaurants and cafes in the vi- 
cinity. The two important churches in Sodermalm, 
Maria-Eyrka and Katarina-Kyrka, are buildings of 
the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. 

A broad quay called Blasieliolmshamnen leads 
from the square Carl XII /s Torg to the south end of 
Blasiehohnen , the chief attraction of which is the 
National Museum. 

This is a handsome building in the Renaissance 
style with an entrance of greenish marble, over which 
are medallions of six famous Swedes: Linnaeus, the 
botanist ; Ehrenstrahl, the painter ; Tegner, the poet ; 
Fogelberg, the sculptor; Wallin, the hymn-writer; 
and Berzelius, the chemist. There are also statues 
of Tessin, the architect, and Sergei, the sculptor. 

In the rooms devoted to Swedish antiquities, we 
find curious relics of the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, 

240 



The City of Stockholm 

the Iron Age, and embroideries, ornaments and carv- 
ings of the Middle Ages. The collection of porcelain 
is also of great interest, and several rooms are de- 
voted to furniture of the Sixteenth, Seventeenth and 
Eighteenth Centuries. 

The gem of the Sculpture gallery is a " Sleeping 
Endymion " found in Hadrian's villa at Tivoli in 
1773, and bought by Gustavus III. The same king 
did much to enrich the picture gallery, in which his 
mother, Queen Louisa Ulrica, had taken so great an 
interest. She purchased Count Tessin's splendid 
collection of French masters of the Eighteenth Cen- 
tury which are the glories of the Swedish gallery. 
The " Triumph of Galatea," by Boucher, is consid- 
ered by many critics the masterpiece of this painter 
of Graces, Goddesses and Loves. Next in importance 
to the French pictures are those by the Dutch and 
Flemish masters. Of course, the Swedish painters 
from the Seventeenth Century to the present day 
are splendidly represented. 

An iron bridge, SJceppsJiolms-Bro, connects the 
south end of Blasieholm with Skeppsholmen, a small 
island, the military and naval headquarters of Stock- 
holm. The most conspicuous buildings are the Kan- 
onier-Kasem and the Karl-JoJians-Kyrha. A wood- 
en bridge leads to another and smaller island, Kas- 
telholmen (Castle Island), famous for its prome- 
nades and view from the tower of the Citadel. Here 
the Eoyal Skating Club is situated. 

The whole island of Djurg'drden that lies on the 
east of Staden is a pleasure resort. As its name tells 

241 



A Guide to Cities 

us, it was originally a deer-preserve, and was turned 
into a park by Gustavus III. and Charles XIV. A 
stone bridge connects it with the mainland at the 
Strandvag ; but steamboats constantly ferry passen- 
gers here from various places. The beautifully un- 
dulating ground, the green sward, the fine old oaks 
and other trees; the charming walks and the pretty 
villas make Djurgarden one of the most beautiful 
parks in Europe. Restaurants, including the cele- 
brated Hasselbacken, are numerous, as well as places 
of amusement. One of the features of the park is 
a colossal statue of the poet Bellman erected by the 
Swedish Academy in 1829. On the 26th of July 
every year, people flock here to recite his verses 
and honor his memory; for Bellman is even more of 
an idol in Stockholm than Hans Andersen is in Co- 
penhagen. 

On the south of Djurgarden a little peninsula juts 
out from the island, which is a special park called 
Frisens Park, a very popular Sunday resort; and 
on the west side of the island is Djurgards-Staden, 
where the houses are built of timber, and which, 
therefore, is a very interesting quarter to visit. 

On the north of the island, not far from the bridge, 
is situated the Northern Museum, built in the style 
of a Swedish castle of the Sixteenth Century, and 
devoted to Scandinavian costumes and antiquities of 
all kinds. 

Further along, near the entrance to Skansen, we 
find what at first sight appears to be an old wooden 
Norwegian church (StavelcirJcer). It is, however, 

242 



The City of Stockholm 

the Biological Museum where Scandinavian birds 
and animals are exhibited, beautifully arranged and 
mounted. 

We shall have to spend many hours in the de- 
lightful and unique open-air museum, called Skan- 
sen, which was founded in 1891. It consists of 
about seventy acres, laid out in such a manner that 
we see all of Sweden in miniature with its lakes, 
rocky hills, woods, cultivated fields and pasture 
lands. Typical old dwelling-houses and churches 
have been transported here, or reproduced, and are 
shown by peasants in their native costumes. We see 
thatched houses, old manor-houses and peasants' huts, 
each of which is correctly furnished. Of particular 
interest is a storehouse of a manor-house in Oster- 
gotland, one of the oldest wooden buildings in Swe- 
den, and the old Bollnasstuga, a building of the 
Sixteenth Century from Helsingland, which con- 
tains articles used in the joyous celebration of Yule 
in olden days. 

Nor are animals and birds missing. We can visit 
the holes and cages of bears, foxes, lynxes, gluttons, 
wolves, otters and other animals; and gaze our fill 
at the eagles, hawks, owls, ptarmigan and other na- 
tive birds ; but what will probably detain us longest 
are the Greenland and Jemtland dogs, and the 
Eeindeer Enclosure, and the Lapp Camp. These re- 
mind us that we are not very far from the Arctic 
Circle. 

There are many towers in this park from which 
lovely views are to be enjoyed; and numerous res- 

213 



A Guide to Cities 

taurants where the weary sight-seer may have re- 
freshment. Every evening there are dances and 
sports and music at Skansen; and the Swedish fes- 
tivals are always celebrated here with special fea- 
tures. These are: Walpurgis Eve and Walpurgis 
Day (April 30 and May 1); the Anniversary of 
Gustavus Vasa's accession (June 6) ; St. John's Eve 
and ILidsummer Day (June 23 and 24) ; St. Lucy's 
Day (Dec. 13) ; and Yule (Christmas, Dec. 25). 

Beyond Skansen is situated the Royal villa, Rosen- 
dal, built by Charles XI V., with its lovely park, hot- 
houses and orangeries. The interior of the palace 
is richly furnished. In the grounds stands a famous 
red " Porphyry Vase," nine feet high and twelve 
feet in diameter, which was made in the Royal man- 
ufactory of Elfdal in Dalecarlia. 

Haga is another favorite resort north of Stock- 
holm on a pretty lake, called the Brunnsviken, com- 
municating with a fjord that leads to Ulriksdal. 
The castle of Haga was built by Gustavus III. in 
1786-88, and was his favorite residence. It contains 
some furniture of his time and many decorative 
paintings. 

Ulriksdal was built at the end of the Seventeenth 
Century by Jacob de la Gardie, and afterward be- 
came the property of the widow of Charles X., who 
left it to her grandson, Prince Ulrik, whose name it 
bears. It is filled with furniture and various curi- 
osities of interest to the traveller as well as to those 
especially interested in Swedish history. The park 
is noted for its fine avenue of lime-trees and its pretty 

244 



The City of Stockholm 

gardens ; and there is a chapel near the castle erected 
in 18 65^ in the Dutch Kenaissance style. 

The most beautiful of the royal palaces, however, 
is Drottningholm, built by Count Tessin on the is- 
land of Lofo in Lake Malar. 

The palace is sumptuously furnished; and con- 
tains many pictures, tapestries and other works of 
art. There is also a fine library; and in the exten- 
sive park we find a theatre and a maze. The old 
gardens, laid out in various styles, are adorned with 
sculpture in bronze and marble, and fountains and 
lakes on which swans and other aquatic birds are 
numerous. The Chinese Pagoda, built by Adolphus 
Frederick as a birthday surprise for his wife, Louise 
Ulrika, is filled with Chinese curiosities. 

The winter days in Stockholm are long and dark. 
In December, the sun does not rise until nine o'clock 
and he gets through his daily journey by half-past 
two! 

Eighteen hours of darkness, however, does not 
prevent the enjoyment of out-of-door sports. ISTo 
people in the world enjoy winter more than the 
Swedes; and well they may; for their country is 
fairy-land when King Winter is on his crystal 
throne. 

Stockholm looks very beautiful in her wintry gar- 
! ments, when all the lakes and bays and inlets and 
canals are glassy mirrors; and the pines, firs and 
spruce trees in the parks and suburbs are robed in 
ermine, and all the roofs, cornices, spires and 
gables are powdered with feathery snow, or made 

245 



A Guide to Cities 

fantastic with glistening icicles. And what beau- 
tiful colors glow in the sky ! What marvellous hues 
are caught and reflected on the glistening surface of 
the snow ! 

The American traveller, Bayard Taylor, was great- 
ly impressed with the enchanting colors of a Swedish 
winter landscape. He writes: 

" The sun rose a little after ten, and I have never 
seen anything finer than the spectacle which we then 
saw for the first time, but which was afterwards al- 
most daily repeated — the illumination of the forests 
and snow-fields in his level orange beams, for even 
at midday he was not more than eight degrees above 
the horizon. The tops of the trees only were 
touched: still and solid as iron, and covered with 
sparkling frost-crystals, their trunks were changed 
to blazing gold, and their foliage to a fiery orange- 
brown. The delicate purple sprays of the birch, 
coated with ice, glittered like wands of topaz and 
amethyst, and the slopes of virgin snow stretching 
towards the sun, shone with the fairest saffron 
gleams. There is nothing equal to this in the South 
— nothing so transcendently rich, dazzling and glori- 
ous." 

How the people delight in sleighing, skating and 
tobogganing! How merrily the bells jingle as the 
sleighs dash along the streets and roads ! An Eng- 
lish traveller writes: 

" All the traffic is on sledges ; the flys and private 
carriages go on runners, with only the curly splash- 
board to denote the wheel of summer. Long light 

246 



The City of Stockholm 

sledges are also used, propelled from behind with the 
foot in a succession of kicks, and can be driven at 
a great pace. But the most curious means of loco- 
motion is the Swedish snow shoe, now becoming well- 
known to English frequenters of Davos and St. 
Moritz. 

" These skidor are strips of pine wood, six or eight 
feet long, by about four inches wide, and strapped 
quite loosely to the feet. The Lapps and up-coun- 
try peasants use them perpetually during winter, 
and can go on the flat at a speed of six or eight miles 
an hour." 

People skate in Stockholm as naturally as they 
walk; and the Royal Skating Club on Kastelholmen 
is not by any means the only resort. Indeed, every 
lake and canal presents an animated picture. The 
traveller just quoted also tells us: 

" It was most exhilarating to join the varied 
throng, any evening after seven o'clock, on one of 
these spacious swept and garnished areas by the side 
of the central island. They were here in their thou- 
sands; men, women and children. And bandstands 
in the middle of the areas gave facility for the music 
so loved by the Stockholmers ; and electric lamps were 
slung round and about the enclosure. The moon and 
the keen northern stars did their best also to make 
the scene memorable, while on the outskirts of the 
rinks were booths as at a fair, in which, as in more 
southern resorts, you might get cups of coffee for a 
halfpenny, or shoot at blown eggs dancing on jets 
of water." 

247 



A Guide to Cities 

One of the favorite skating resorts is the strait 
between Djurgarden and the mainland. Hundreds 
of skaters are seen here ; and, as on every other lake 
and canal, many bear skating-sails. People often 
skate enormous distances, and form parties for a 
special expedition. 

In the winter, too, comes the great season of Yule, 
or Christmas. People begin to prepare early for 
this joyous festival. Everybody has Christmas se- 
crets, for gifts are universal. A few days before 
Christmas, the boats come into Stockholm laden 
with trees ; and in a short while the streets are filled 
with the spicy fragrance of the forest. Every house 
in Sweden, from the King's Palace to the poorest 
hovel, has its Christmas tree; consequently the sup- 
ply in the markets and shops is enormous, and on 
Christmas Eve every other person that you see is 
carrying home a tree. On the Sunday before Christ- 
mas Day, an old custom permits the shops to re- 
main open; and according to another old custom 
there is a special Christmas market in the Stor 
Torg (see page 229), where little booths are erected 
for the occasion, and where, in addition to all the 
fancy articles, foods and Christmas-tree decorations, 
the gingerbread Yule pig (Julgrisen) and Yule 
goat (Julbochen) are conspicuous. 

In every house, from that of the wealthy nobleman 
to that of the peasant, the same Christmas supper is 
served : a specially prepared fish for the first course ; 
rice with cream and powdered cinnamon for the sec- 
ond ; and roast goose for the third. 

248 



The City of Stockholm 

The Christmas festivities are not over until Jan. 
13, which is called " Twentieth Day Yule." 

A greater festival, however, is Midsummer's Day. 
Summer in Sweden is very short. Every one, re- 
joicing in the bright sunshine, tries to make the most 
of it while it lasts. The days now are eighteen 
hours long and there is really no darkness. On June 
23 the town is deserted. Steamboats, trams, trains, 
cabs and carriages convey thousands into the coun- 
try and parks to spend the day on the grass and 
under thelrees. Many carry their lunch baskets and 
others depend on the restaurants, but all are alike 
in one matter, — they wear flowers or a bit of green- 
ery. The birch bough and leaf are conspicuous 
everywhere. Cabs, carriages and boats are masses 
of moving boughs and garlands. Horses and cab- 
men are also adorned ; and everywhere you go, you 
see the Maypole, sometimes fifty or sixty feet high, 
gay with ribbons, flowers, garlands and blue and 
yellow Swedish flags. The people dance and make 
merry around it, just as they used to do in England 
and in this country on the first of May, before the 
Puritans forbade it. The festivities are kept up all 
through the night, which is, after all, nothing but 
a red twilight; and the Midsummer bonfires answer 
one another from rock to rock until they mingle their 
lurid gleams with the glowing banners of Odin's 
Valkyrie daughters, — the Dawn Maidens. 



249 



THE CITY OF CHEISTIANIA 

CHRISTIANIA is a town of few historical asso- 
ciations, monuments, or relics. It is a mod- 
ern capital, and a town of much commerce and manu- 
facture; and consequently its streets are full of life 
and bustle. Its characteristics must be sought for in 
the old suburbs, where a few old wooden houses still 
survive in the narrow winding streets. Although it 
has a fine University and many museums contain- 
ing collections of value, its chief charm is in its 
situation. Christiania lies on a peninsula between 
the bays of Bjorviken and Piperviken in which the 
great Christiania Fjord ends. On the southern point 
of this promontory stands the old Castle, or fortress, 
of Akershus; and to the north extends the broad 
valley of Aker (Ahersdal) with its circle of forest- 
clad hills. The Fjord is dotted with islands, some 
of which are uninhabited, while others exhibit pretty 
villas nestling among the trees. 

The inhabitants of Christiania appreciate the 
beautiful views of town, fjord, wooded hills and 
snow-tipped mountains that surround them; and, 
therefore, every pleasure-garden and every resort has 
its tower from which the panorama may be observed. 
It is the scenery more than any other pleasure that 
Christiania has to offer that attracts the tourist. 

250 



The Citj of Christiania 

Though Christiania has grown amazingly of late 
years its general features remain the same as when 
Bayard Taylor wrote: 

" The environs of Christiania are remarkably 
beautiful. From the quiet basin of the fjord, which 
vanishes between blue, interlocking islands to the 
southward, the land rises gradually on all sides' 
speckled with smiling country-seats and farm-houses, 
which trench less and less on the dark evergreen for- 
ests as they recede until the latter keep their old 
dominion and sweep in unbroken lines to the sum- 
mits of the mountains on either hand. The ancient 
citadel of Akershus, perched upon a rock, commands 
the approach to the city, fine old linden trees rising 
above its white walls and tiled roofs; beyond over 
the trees of the palace park in which stand the new 
Museum and University, towers the long palace front 
behind which commences a range of villas and gar- 
dens stretching westward around a deep bight of the 
fjord, until they reach the new palace of Oscar's Hall 
on a peninsula facing the city. As we floated over 
the glassy water in a skiff on the afternoon following 
our arrival, watching the scattered sun-gleams move 
across the lovely panorama, we found it difficult to 
believe that we were in the latitude of Greenland. 
The dark rich green of the foliage, the balmy odors 
which filled the air, the deep blue of the distant hills 
and islands, and the soft, warm colors of the houses 
all belonged to the south." 

Christiania may be regarded as a city that was 
twice founded. About 1050, Harold Haardraade 

251 



A Guide to Cities 

founded the town of Oslo on the fjord then called 
F olden (now the Christiania Fjord) on a plain be- 
neath the steep slopes of EJceberg. Harold built 
here a castle and other edifices; but Haakon V. 
(1299-1319) was the first to make Oslo a royal resi- 
dence and the burial place for the kings. He re- 
built the Mariakirken erected in the Eleventh Cen- 
tury. 

In the Middle Ages, Oslo was made the seat of a 
bishopric, and became the most important town, af- 
ter Bergen, in Norway. At the end of the Four- 
teenth Century, many merchants of the Hanseatic 
League were settled here and carried matters with a 
high hand until the reign of Christian II. of Den- 
mark (1513-1524). Oslo, being built of wood, suf- 
fered frequently from fires in the Sixteenth Cen- 
tury; and while it was being besieged in 1567 by the 
Swedes, who had destroyed it forty years before, the 
inhabitants burned it down rather than let it again 
fall into their hands. It was rebuilt, but in 1624 
it was again destroyed by fire; and King Christian 
IV. of Denmark and Norway, who happened to be 
in Norway at the time, decided to rebuild the city 
and call it by his own name. 

" What was done at that time by the king was 
more a removal than anything else, mainly effected 
on military grounds, as the city on its new site was 
brought into close proximity to Akershus Castle, and, 
shortly after its foundation, was surrounded by ram- 
parts which were built up to the fortifications of the 
Castle and formed with these a united whole. The 

252 



The City of Christiania 

citizens were not permitted to rebuild their dwell- 
ings, but were granted sites in the new city, which 
were parcelled out by the King himself after pro- 
ceeding to Akershus for the purpose. 

" Most of the houses of Oslo were of wood and 
repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. On the open por- 
tions of the city's old ground there are no inconsid- 
erable remains of the houses which were burnt down 
by the fire of 1624, and which on various occasions, 
especially during the excavations of 1892, have been 
opened up. Many old houses by these operations 
have been brought to light, showing that the destruc- 
tion of 1624 cannot have been so complete as had 
been imagined. These houses, dating from about 
1570, formed, as long as they remained unexposed, 
a sort of small Norwegian Pompeii in wood, and of 
very modest proportions. 

" As an offset to Oslo, with its perishable log tene- 
ments, Christiania was, by the decree of its founder, 
to be built of stone, and this was carried out to a 
large extent, not however to the extent desired by 
the King, and Christiania was thus, even within the 
old ramparts, far from being a stone-built town. 
Compared, however, with Oslo it represented a very 
great advance for the times." * 

Oslo did not disappear entirely, but continued a 
somewhat dull existence as a suburb of Christiania 
until it was annexed in 1859. 

Christiania suffered from three severe fires in 
1686, 1708 and 1858. The latter one was the worst. 
* Bloch. 
253 



A Guide to Cities 

It broke out in the Shipper Gade in the centre of 
the town, destroyed sixty houses, and rendered a 
thousand persons homeless. Vaterland and Piper- 
viken were almost swept away. The city was also 
visited by the plague several times in the Seventeenth 
Century; and by the cholera in 1833, and in 1840- 
1850. In 1716, it was occupied by the army of 
Charles II. of Sweden, which besieged the Castle of 
Akershus. 

Notwithstanding all these troubles, Christiania 
has grown steadily. In the middle of the Eighteenth 
Century, many merchants attained to wealth, par- 
ticularly in trading with the English. The chief 
commodity was timber. In 1807, Christiania expe- 
rienced many calamities; but, after Norway and 
Sweden became united in 1814, her commerce was 
resuscitated; and Christiania now ranks next to 
Copenhagen and Stockholm among the Scandinavian 
towns. Apart from being a manufacturing centre 
and supplying the Norwegian towns in her vicinity 
with various articles, she exports lumber, matches 
and ice in large quantities. 

The University, founded in 1811, made Chris- 
tiania the focus of the intellectual life of the coun- 
try; and in 1814 it became the seat of Government 
and Parliament (Storthing). The great event of 
late years was the act of the Storthing dissolving the 
union of Norway and Sweden on June 7, 1905, and 
a son of the King of Denmark taking his oath as 
Hakon VII. before the Storthing on Nov. 27 of that 
year. 

254 



The City of Christiania 

And now let us approach the city with the eyes 
of an English traveller: 

" The voyage all the way up the fjord is now a 
moving panorama of lake scenery unique in char- 
acter and of considerable beauty. Those who ex- 
pect savage grandeur and a picturesque outline of 
mountains and rocks will be disappointed, for, beau- 
tiful as it is, the aspect is tame compared with scen- 
ery in the fjords of the west coast. Most of the 
islands and hills are too round in form to be very 
picturesque ; they are of granite and gneiss, and for 
the most part covered with fir and pine trees from 
the water's edge to the summit. 

" If steaming up the fjord between the months of 
May and July the traveller will be much struck by 
the lightness of the nights and the gorgeous sunset 
effects, which blend into those of sunrise without 
losing their brightness. The course being due north 
(towards the sun) there is probably no place in the 
whole of Norway where sunsets are seen to greater 
advantage. 

" On the left just before reaching Christiania 
(158 miles and about 12 hours from Christiansand) 
will be seen the Ladegaardso peninsula, thickly cov- 
ered, like the rest of the neighborhood east and west, 
with pretty wooden villas. The city is now in sight 
at the foot of a hilly amphitheatre. The more strik- 
ing objects on the left are the palace and the huge 
block of handsome buildings erected on Victoria 
Terrace, by the late Mr. Peter Petersen, one of the 
most enterprising citizens of Christiania. The slim 

255 



A Guide to Cities 

but tall crenellated tower of Oscar's Hall adorns the 
small bay to the west while straight in front lies 
the once strong Castle of Akershus." 

Akershus Castle, the ramparts of which are plant- 
ed with lime-trees, and which is now an arsenal and 
prison, was the royal residence of the Norwegian 
sovereigns until about 1740. 

Of the original castle, built here at the end of the 
Thirteenth Century, only fragments of the founda- 
tions are left; for it was besieged in 1310 by Duke 
Eric of Sweden; by Christian II. of Denmark; and 
by the Swedes in 1567 and 1716. The arsenal and 
armory contain many relics such as arms and ban- 
ners and other objects of historical interest; and in 
a small tower on the south side the Norwegian re- 
galia and articles belonging to the sovereigns are 
preserved. The old prisons are also shown to vis- 
itors. The view is superb, and the terrace is a fa- 
vorite promenade. 

Rounding the point on which the castle is situated, 
the steamer soon reaches the railway quay, nearly 
opposite the Custom House, and is docked in the 
quay-lined harbor of BjorviJcen where numerous 
other ships and steamers are lying. This was for- 
merly the eastern boundary of the original city. A 
new street here, AJcerselven, with a bridge across the 
river, Aker, has been opened to Oslo harbor. 

" Old Christiania is very regular. Beyond it lies 
a semi-circle of suburbs — Piperviken, Hammer sb org, 
Sagbakfcen, Yaterland and Gronland which, long 
since, were included in the town but which yet defy 

256 




Copyright. 1910, by Underwood & Underwood. 

CARL JOHAN'S STREET, ROYAL PALACE IN THE 
DISTANCE, CHRISTIANIA 



The City of Christiania 

all attempts of arrangement. With their low houses 
and crooked streets, they do not create an attractive 
picture. Beyond these in the more recently laid- 
out portions, there again exists great regularity, the 
streets being at right angles to each other, and the 
houses in them fine and tall. Some of the new quar- 
ters are filled with villas and form some of the pretti- 
est and most attractive parts of the metropolis." * 

The main thoroughfare, Carl Johans Gade, is 
also the northern boundary of old Christiania, and 
runs from the Eastern Railway Station in a straight 
line for about a mile until it ends at the Eoyal 
Palace. Carl Johan's Gade is the street of handsome 
shops, hotels and cafes; and the street on which we 
find such important public buildings as the Stortli- 
ingsbygningen (House of Parliament), the Univer- 
sity and the Museums. As it is the fashionable 
promenade and shopping district, it is, therefore, the 
street on which the traveller loves to stroll and linger. 

The Royal Palace stands on an eminence in the 
beautiful park and gardens laid out in formal taste 
with lakes, walks and beds of bright flowers. In 
front of the Palace on a terrace stands an equestrian 
statue of Charles John (Bernadotte), facing the 
street to which his name is given. This was un- 
veiled in 1875. The Palace was erected in 1823- 
1848 and is a simple, plain and not particularly at- 
tractive structure. It is richly decorated within 
with paintings and sculpture by ^Norwegian artists. 
The chief rooms of interest are the large Ball Room, 
* Bloch. 
257 



A Guide to Cities 

the Red Drawing Room, and the King's Billiard 
Room. 

Skirting the Palace Park, the road Drammens 
Veien (Drammen Road), affords a delightful and 
much frequented walk. South of the Palace lies the 
famous Victoria Terrace with its rows of handsome 
houses. Drammens Veien runs along until it reaches 
a branch of the fjord called the Kyles of Frogner 
and then runs parallel to this boundary as far as the 
mouth of the river Frogner. This is fast becoming 
a villa district. North and west of the Palace Park 
are other districts that are being built up with resi- 
dences, especially Homansbyen (Homan's Town). 

Going down Carl Johan's Gade from the Palace, 
the first building on the left at the foot of the slope 
is the University, which consists of three fine build- 
ings, erected in 1841-1853. The Library, of 375,- 
000 volumes, is contained in the wing nearest the 
Palace. The Centre building has a fine portico orna- 
mented with a statue of Minerva and is devoted to 
lecture rooms and halls; here we also find the Zoo- 
logical, Botanical, Zootomical, Mineralogical and 
Ethnographical Collections. 

Behind the University are situated the Museum 
of Art containing the sculpture and picture galleries, 
the Museum of Industrial Art, and the Historical 
Museum. The collection of Northern antiquities in- 
cludes relics of the Stone, Iron and Bronze Ages, 
and many mediaeval objects of great interest, among 
which are some marvellously carved doors of old 
timber churches. 

258 



The City of Christiania 

Of all the treasures, however, the most ancient 
and valuable are two Viking ships, one of which was 
found at Thune in 1867 and the other at Gogstad 
in 1880. The latter is in the better state of pres- 
ervation and measures 172 feet from stem to stern. 

A visitor describes it as follows: 

" It was unearthed from the mouth of the great 
Christiania Fjord. It is shrined as it deserves to be 
in a great shed all to itself, with glass cases round 
the chamber containing the charred trifles, bones, 
etc., which were disinterred with it. The walls are 
hung with mouldering ropes and detached fragments 
of the boat ; and also with photographs of it and its 
various parts. You may walk all round it on a 
gravelled path, and so thoroughly examine it as it 
stands in imposing ruin, buttressed on supports as if 
it were in process of construction, instead of a relic 
of about eleven centuries. 

" An imaginative man may, with the help of pre- 
cise description, readily furnish it for one of the 
many marauding cruises in which doubtless it took 
a part. Among the odds and ends which were found 
with it were bits of homespun, supposed to belong to 
the dead Viking's tent, and some peacock feathers. 
These last are reasonably believed to have been the 
result of the Northman's voyages in southern seas, 
since peacocks were then rare in Norway. They 
may even have been taken from some Saxon home- 
stead on the east coast of England. The Viking's 
peacock was interred with him in the middle of the 
boat, his horses and dogs being slain and laid like 

259 



A Guide to Cities 

dead sentinels outside the death chamber. Of all 
these animals, as well as of the Viking himself, the 
bones may be seen in the cases of the room. The 
boat was drawn from the sea with its stern towards 
the water, and all the details of the burial having 
been settled, and the Viking himself placed where 
he had commanded so often the whole of the ship, 
except the sepulchral chamber, was covered with 
potter's clay, with a layer of moss and twigs on the 
top, upon which the mound was raised. 

" In extreme length the boat is about one hun- 
dred feet, by a middle width of sixteen feet. Its 
lines excite the admiration of accomplished ship- 
wrights in our day. Still, it is interesting to mark 
how the Norwegians of the coast use boats modelled 
quite after this old fashion. In the Faroe Isles, the 
curved prow is even more emphatic in its resem- 
blance to the Viking's ship, whence it may have de- 
scended by the regular process of one generation 
from another. 

" Perhaps the most suggestive ornaments of the 
boat are the four shields fixed to its gunwale. They 
are round and wooden, with about a third of their 
area raised above the ship's side as a protection to 
the marauders." 

Returning to Carl Johan's Gade we come to the 
large square called Eidsvolds Plads, which is the 
centre of life and gaiety and which is surrounded by 
cafes and restaurants and extends as far as the 
Storthingsbygningen (House of Parliament). This 
building was completed in 1866. In front of it 

260 



The City of Christiania 

stand two granite lions by Borch. During the sit- 
tings of Parliament the public is admitted to the 
gallery. Behind the President's seat in the Storth- 
ing's chamber is hung a large painting by Oscar 
Wergeland, representing the first discussion of the 
Norwegian Constitution at Eidsvold in 1814. On 
the west side of Eidsvold Plads stands the National 
Theatre, erected in 1895-1899 with colossal statues 
of Ibsen and Bjornson. 

Still walking eastwards down Carl Johan's Gade, 
the next point of interest is the Stortorvet, or Torvet, 
the main square or market place, on one side of 
which rises the Cathedral of the diocese of Chris- 
tiania — Our Saviour's Church — Vor F reiser s 
Kirhe y which was erected in 1695-1699 and restored 
in 1849-1850. The altar-piece, representing Christ 
in Gethsemane, is by the German artist Steinle of 
Diisseldorf. In the middle of the square stands the 
statue of Christian IV. by Jacobsen. On this square 
also are the vegetable and meat markets; the Bank; 
and the main fire brigade station. 

Various streets radiate from this point, including 
Stor Gaden (Main Street), in which some old trades 
still flourish and the peasantry congregate. This 
street leads to the Kiver Aker. Grcensen, another 
important street, connects this square with Akers 
Gaden. The Norwegian silver-work, filigree-work, 
enamel-work and glass-work are particularly famed, 
and many shops where these specialties are sold are 
situated in Carl Johan's Gade, Kirke Gaden, Kon- 
gen's Gade and Stor Gaden. 

261 



A Guide to Cities 

The next important street to Carl Johan is Akers 
Gaden, which begins at Akershus Castle, leads past 
the Houses of Parliament, crosses Carl Johan's 
Gade and runs north a long distance beyond the 
limits of the town. Until it reaches Grsensen, the 
street is narrow, and this part of it in former days 
was so dirty that it was called Svinesund (Pig 
Sound) ; but now fine houses and buildings such as 
the Courts of Justice and Government offices have 
caused the past squalor to be forgotten. Here also 
was erected in 1858 the Trefoldinghedskirke (Trin- 
ity Church), a large brick building with a dome 
containing handsome interior decorations, including 
an altar-piece painted by Tidemand, representing the 
Baptism of Christ, and a carved baptismal font of 
kneeling angels with a shell. Behind Trinity 
Church lies an old churchyard, consecrated during 
the Plague of 1654, as is shown by a monument on 
the left of the entrance. 

Akers Gaden branches off at the Roman Catholic 
Church of St. Olaf (St. Olafskirhe), a brick Gothic 
building of 1854, passes around the cemetery Vor 
Frelsers Gravlund and to the old Aker's Church 
(Gamle Akers Kirke), built of stone in the Eleventh 
Century and restored in 1860-1861 when the pres- 
ent spire was added. The roof is flat and supported 
by enormous pillars. It is now closed to visitors; 
and, therefore, we must depend upon the impressions 
of a traveller in 1892, who wrote: 

" We drove out to see the old Akers Church in 
the suburb, which has a recorded existence of about 

262 



The City of Christiania 

nine hundred years. We half expected to find it a 
wooden oddity, like that of Borgund in the moun- 
tains, which looks for all the world like a cluster Of 
conical belfries joined at the bases. No such thing, 
however. Akers is a stone building, heavy and pris- 
on-like as befits its era. Of architectural decoration 
it has none. Its beauty lies in its grim strength and 
the solidity of its granite columns. It has an ex- 
quisite carved oak pulpit in keeping with the style 
of the church — massive and compact, and as different 
as possible from the carved work of the Belgian ar- 
tists in the great church of the Low Countries. 

" While we sat admiring this pulpit a procession 
of men and women trooped in with two babies in 
their midst. It was a baptism. The children were 
as quiet as the Norwegian winter. Even the palms 
full of water upon their little foreheads did not 
awaken them. The berumed pastor made the service 
impressive; the massive church added to the im- 
pressiveness. Afterwards the god-parents, who had 
been separated and placed on opposing sides accord- 
ing to sex, filed past the altar and gave their offer- 
ings, and the babes were taken back to the capital 
to begin their life course." 

North of the old grave yard and Gamle- Akers 
Kirke is St. Hanshaugen (St. John's Hill), a sort 
of garden or park where the city reservoir and water 
works are situated, and where there are restaurants, 
pretty walks, band-stands, pavilions and towers that 
command beautiful views of the town and the fjord 
with its islands. 

263 



A Guide to Cities 

On the east lies Oslo, which has been absorbed 
by Christiania and is now a suburb. To all appear- 
ances it is a modern town, for all the ancient build- 
ings have long disappeared. 

Its centre is the square called St. Halvards Plads, 
where Bispe Gaden that runs from the harbor joins 
Oslo Gade. At the point of intersection of these 
streets stands the Lade Gaard (Farm House), which 
during the Middle Ages was the palace of the Roman 
Catholic bishops. The great event of historical in- 
terest that took place in this house was the marriage 
of James VI. of Scotland to Anne of Denmark, sister 
of Christian IV., the founder of Christiania. The 
princess left Christiania for Scotland on Sept. 5, 
1589, with an escort of twelve war ships; but, owing 
to storms and an accident to the royal flagship, the 
latter with three other ships sought shelter at Oslo 
where the bride-elect was accommodated in the 
Bishop's Palace. As she was about to return to 
Denmark, she received news that the impatient King 
James had sailed for Norway. He arrived on Nov. 
19, and four days later the marriage was celebrated 
in the Bishop's Palace, which was hung with rich 
tapestry for the occasion. David Lindsay, the 
King's chaplain, performed the ceremony. After 
spending a month in Oslo, the King and Queen of 
Scotland left in sledges for Denmark, where they 
spent the winter. 

On the other side of St. Halvard's Plads stands 
the Bishop's Palace (Bispe Gaarden), originally the 
old Dominican monastery , a part of which was 

264 



The City of Christiania 

granted to the Roman Catholic bishops after the Ref- 
ormation, during which they lost their residence 
just described. This Palace, in which part of the 
old monastery is incorporated, was rebuilt and ex- 
tended in 1882-1884. 

In the vicinity are situated Oslo Church and 
churchyard, and the Oslo asylum, built around por- 
tions of the old Franciscan monastery. From this 
spot, the tourist has a choice of several roads by 
which he may climb to the top of the Ekeberg, or 
Egeburg Hill, the most attractive of which is the 
Kongs Veien (King's Road) which winds through 
beautiful woods all the way. Of the panorama that 
is unfolded there an enthusiastic traveller writes: 

" We ascended by numerous serpentine windings 
the steep height of the Egeburg ; looking down from 
its summit, what a varied view is seen! The large 
town at the end of the bay, in the midst of the coun- 
try, spreading out in small divergent masses in every 
direction, till it is at last lost in the distance among 
villages, farm-houses and well-built country-houses. 
There are ships in the harbor, ships behind the beau- 
tiful little islands which front the bay, and other 
sails appear in the distance. The majestic forms 
of the steep hills rising in the horizon over other 
hills, which bound the country to the westward, are 
worthy of Claude Lorrain. I have long been seek- 
ing for a resemblance to this country and to this 
landscape: it is only to be found at Geneva on the 
Savoy side, towards the Jura mountains; but the 
Lake of Geneva does not possess the islands of the 

265 



A Guide to Cities 

fjord, nor the numerous ships and boats sailing in 
every direction. Here the pleasure resulting from 
the sight of the extraordinary and beautiful country 
is heightened by the contemplation of human in- 
dustry and activity." * 

On the other side of Christiania lies another old 
district called Bygdo, anciently known as Bygdey. 

Bygdo, " the cultivated island," first appears in 
history when King Haakon V. informed his bishops 
and nobles that he had settled " Bygdey " upon his 
bride, Euphemia, daughter of the Prince of Riigen. 
This was inherited by her daughter, who granted it 
in 1352 with several islands near Oslo to the monas- 
tery of the Holy Virgin and St. Edmund on the 
island of Hovedo (near Akershus Castle), on con- 
dition that they would say masses for her. At the 
Reformation, Bygdo reverted with other monastic 
possessions to the Crown, and was known as Lade 
Gaardsoen (Farm Island). 

Bygdo is separated from the mainland by two arms 
of the Fjord — the Kyles of Bestum and the Kyles 
of Frogner — between which a narrow neck barely 
prevents Bygdo from being an island. Bygdo 
may be reached by road or boat. Many beautiful 
walks and drives are to be enjoyed here through syl- 
van scenery. The portion of Bygdo that belongs to 
the State consists of an old manor house known as 
the Royal Farm of Bygdo, which is situated in a 
lovely park, greatly frequented by the people of 
Christiania on Sundays and holidays. The chief 
* Von Buch. 
266 



The City of Christiania 

attraction of Bygdo, however, is Oscar's Hall, 
which was erected by King Oscar I. in 1849—1852 
for a pleasure seat, but which is not now used as 
a dwelling. The main building consists of three 
stories and a tall tower from which a beautiful view 
is to be had. The dining-hall is in a separate build- 
ing and is richly decorated with paintings. One 
celebrated series representing Norwegian peasant 
life is by Tidemand. The other rooms are deco- 
rated with paintings and sculpture, and the castle 
contains quite a little collection of art objects. 

In the grounds there are five buildings erected 
by King Oscar II. to perpetuate some of the old 
Norwegian architecture. These are the Gol Church, 
an old timber building of the Twelfth or Thirteenth 
Century with fine interior carvings, which stood at 
Gol in Hallingdal until 1884; the Hovedstuen, or 
house of a peasant proprietor built in 1738, removed 
here from Telemarken and properly furnished; the 
Starbur, or Storehouse, also from Telemarken; an 
ancient R'ogst ue (smoke hut), a very ancient dwelling 
with a hole in the roof for the smoke to escape, from 
Saetersdalen; and a Barn from Gudbrandsdalen. 

Not far from these is the Norwegian National 
Museum modelled somewhat after that of Skansen 
in Stockholm (see page 243). The entrance gate 
is a reproduction of an old city gate of Bergen of 
1628. Here we find reproductions and original 
buildings of churches, cottages, old gates and door- 
ways, etc. The Ridehus contains twenty-eight rooms 
filled with furniture, pictures, textiles, and domestic 

267 



A Guide to Cities 

utensils from the various provinces of Norway, 
There is also a restaurant here, the Gildestueun, 
where concerts are given every evening. 

Holmen Kollen on the northwest is the most popu- 
lar pleasure resort of Christiania ; both in summer 
and winter. It is an extensive establishment on a 
hill about 1,000 feet above the sea-level; and con- 
sists of several wooden buildings all in the Nor- 
wegian style, including hotels, a " sporting-house/' 
for cyclists in the summer, and skaters, snow-shoe 
runners and tobogganers in the winter. There are also 
pretty walks through the woods to the lake and the 
Peisestuen (the " Hearth or Ingle Nook cottage ") 
where light refreshments are sold. From this point 
may be seen the clearing in the wood where the 
famous Ski competition takes place every February, 
and which all Christiania goes to see. It has been 
called the " Christiania Derby." 

A splendid road, opened in 1890 by the King of 
Norway and the Emperor William II., after whom 
it is named, leads to Frogner Sceter. 

Frogner Sseter, formerly the " Villa Heftye," 
was purchased by the city of Christiania in 1889. 
This lies to the north-west of the city and was once 
the great show place in the vicinity. The house of 
Mr. Thomas Heftye, who died in 1886, stands 1,380 
feet above the sea-level, and is converted into a 
museum containing relics illustrative of Norwegian 
domestic life. The view is beautiful. Near this 
chalet several old Norwegian buildings have been 
re-erected, including a peasant's cottage and other 

268 



The City of Christiania 

quaint dwellings, as well as booths for rest and re- 
freshment. At some distance beyond Tryvands 
Hoiden there is also a special tower commanding an 
extensive view, on the south as far as the Kattegat; 
on the east toward the boundary of Sweden; on the 
north the extensive forests of Nordmarhen, where 
the mountain peaks rise 2,000 to 3,000 feet; on the 
west the snow capped fjelds of Hallingdal and Tele- 
marken ; and below, the city encircled by green fields 
and pine woods, and the blue waters of the Christi- 
onia Fjord bright with islands and shipping. 



269 



THE CITY OF EDINBURGH 

THE MODERN ATHENS 

EDINBURGH, the capital of Scotland, has a 
world-wide fame for its natural and artificial 
beauties. Foreign visitors and native admirers all 
unite in praise of the varied charms of the city. 
Thus, Sir David Wilkie, the painter, wrote: 

" What the tour of Europe was necessary to see 
elsewhere, I now find congregated in this one city. 
Here are alike the beauties of Prague and of Salz- 
burg; here are the romantic sites of Orvieto and 
Tivoli ; and here is all of the admired bays of Genoa 
and Naples. Here indeed to the poetic fancy may 
be found realized the Roman Capital and the Grecian 
Acropolis." 

The name Modern Athens was given to the city 
on account of the similarity of the physical features 
of Edinburgh with those of Athens. Stuart, the 
author of " The Antiquities of Athens," first drew 
attention to the resemblance. Dr. Clarke said that 
the neighborhood of Athens is just the Highlands of 
Scotland enriched with the splendid remains of art. 
W. H. Williams also stated that the distant view of 
Athens from the iEgean Sea was considerably like 
that of Edinburgh from the Eirth of Forth " though 
certainly the latter is considerably superior." 

270 



The City of Edinburgh 

" Meditative people will find a charm in a certain 
consonancy between the aspect of the city and its old 
and stirring history. Few places, if any, offer a 
more barbaric display of contrasts to the eye. In 
the very midst stands one of the most satisfactory 
crags in nature — a Bass Rock upon dry land, rooted 
in a garden, shaken by passing trains, carrying a 
crown of battlements and turrets, and describing its 
warlike shadow over the liveliest and brightest thor- 
oughfare of the new town. From their smoky bee- 
hives, ten stories high, the unwashed look down upon 
the open squares and gardens of the wealthy; and 
gay people sunning themselves along Princes Street, 
with its mile of commercial palaces all benagged 
upon some great occasion, see, across a gardened val- 
ley set with statues, the washings of the old town 
flutter in the breeze at its high windows. And then, 
upon all sides, what a clashing of architecture ! In 
this one valley, where the life of the town goes most 
busily forward, there may be seen, shown one above 
and behind another by the accidents of the ground, 
buildings in almost every style upon the globe. 
Egyptian and Greek temples, Venetian palaces and 
Gothic spires, are huddled one over another in a most 
admired disorder; while, above all, the brute mass 
of the Castle and the summit of Arthur's Seat look 
down upon these imitations with a becoming dignity, 
as the works of Nature may look down upon the 
monuments of Art." * 

Edinburgh is built on the slopes of three hills, 
* Robert Louis Stevenson. 

271 



A Guide to Cities 

about a mile and a half south of the Firth of Forth, 
which is here about six miles broad. It would be 
hard to say now where Edinburgh ends and the old 
port, Leith, begins. The city also extends to the 
water at Newhaven and Granton. From its emi- 
nences the view is extensive over sea and land — from 
the Isle of May lighthouse in the German Ocean to 
Ben Ledi on the West. 

The Castle Bock rises to a height of 385 feet and 
dominates the scene for miles on every side. Its 
strategic value was recognized very early. Roman 
relics have been discovered nearby; and it was an 
important hold of the Picts. Early in the Seventh 
Century, Edwin, King of Northumbria, built a for- 
tress here which was named after him, Edwin's-burg 
(Gaelic, Dunedin). 

Under Malcolm Canmore, whose wife Margaret 
died there in 1092, and during the reigns of his three 
sons, Edinburgh Castle was a royal residence. Un- 
der its protection, the upper town rapidly grew and 
prospered, attracting Anglo-Saxon and Norman col- 
onists. 

Malcolm's son, the pious David I., founded the 
Abbey of Holyrood, and gave the canons the right 
to build a burgh between them and the city. This 
was called the Canongate. The Abbey served as a 
royal palace, or, at least, afforded occasional accom- 
modation to the Scottish sovereigns in the days be- 
fore they adopted Edinburgh as their permanent 
capital. 

The Kings of Scotland who reigned before the 
272 



The City of Edinburgh 

Stuarts held their courts in various towns. On the 
murder of James I. in 1437 at Perth, it was felt 
that a strong fortress was needed to protect the crown 
from the attacks of the powerful nobles. The 
widowed Queen and her son James II. removed to 
Edinburgh, which was thenceforth the capital of the 
Kingdom. In 1452, James II. by charter made 
Edinburgh pre-eminent over the other burghs, and 
the first city wall was erected. James III. also 
favored the city, and raised it to a sheriffdom 
within itself, and gave to the incorporated trades a 
banner under which they gathered at need and which 
his descendant James VI. contemptuously called the 
" Blue Blanket." This is still preserved in the 
Trades Maiden Hospital. The city was soon forced 
to expand. The new town spread over the valley to 
the south, the Cowgate being the main thoroughfare. 
On the death of James IV. and the flower of his 
nobility at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, a new 
protecting wall was built enclosing the Cowgate and 
land occupied by Greyfriars' Church, Heriot's Hos- 
pital, etc. The Canongate was not included, as it 
belonged to Holyrood. 

The Cowgate runs parallel with the original main 
street called High Street, and was connected with it 
by more than a hundred narrow alleys or closes 
threading the maze of lofty houses. 

During the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries 
Edinburgh suffered several times by English inva- 
sion and by warring native factions. Sometimes the 
Castle was too strong to be taken. The town was 

273 



A Guide to Cities 

the scene of many tragedies of persecution and in- 
tolerance during the religious disturbances of that 
period of rebellion and fanaticism. 

After the death of James V. in 1542, Cardinal 
Beaton acted as Kegent and allied Scotland with 
France against England. Henry VIII. issued fero- 
cious orders to the Earl of Hertford to invade Scot- 
land: 

" There to put all to fire and sword, to burn Edin- 
burgh town and to raze and deface it, when you have 
sacked it and gotten what you can of it. Sack Holy- 
rood House and as many towns and villages about 
Edinburgh as ye conveniently can. Sack Leith, and 
burn and subvert it, and all the rest, putting man, 
woman and child to fire and sword without exception 
when any resistance shall be made against you. 
The accomplishment of all this shall be most accept- 
able to the majesty and honour of the King." 

Consequently, in May, 1544, the Earl of Hertford 
landed at Leith, took Blackness Castle and demanded 
the unconditional surrender of the city. He had 
come to punish the Scots for their detestable false- 
hood, to declare and show the force of his highnesses 
sword to all such as would resist him. On the re- 
ceipt of a defiant answer, the English blew in Canon- 
gate, and for two days Edinburgh was pillaged and 
burned. The invaders, after unsuccessfully bom- 
barding the Castle, seized the ships in Leith harbor, 
loaded them with spoil and sailed back to Berwick. 

Three years later the English again invaded Scot- 
land ; and at Musselburgh, about six miles from 

274 



The City of Edinburgh 

Edinburgh, the last battle was fought between Eng- 
land and Scotland as independent kingdoms. On 
the day following the disastrous battle, in which ten 
thousand Scots were slain, the victorious English 
burnt Leith; but the infant Queen Mary was re- 
moved to Stirling for safety; and the invaders re- 
treated for lack of provisions. 

In 1550, Adam Wallace was burned on Castle 
Hill for calling the mass an abomination, but the 
Reformation was working and in June, 1559, the 
forces of the Lords of the Congregation took posses- 
sion of Edinburgh, demolished its altars, seized the 
coining irons of the Mint and the Regent retired to 
Dunbar. 

After the defeat and flight into England of Queen 
Mary in 1568, the Castle of Edinburgh was held in 
her interest by Kirkaldy of Grange. When the Earl 
of Morton became regent, he obtained aid from Eng- 
land. Early in 1573, fifteen hundred English 
troops and a train of artillery arrived, and the Castle 
surrendered in May. The garrison was released, 
but the governor and his brother were hanged at the 
Cross of Edinburgh. Mary's party in Scotland was 
then completely subdued. 

In 1645, the city was laid waste by plague. Five 
years later, it was captured by Cromwell, the Castle 
also capitulating. On the accession of Charles II. 
in 1660, Edinburgh saw a bitter persecution of the 
Covenanters which lasted for a generation. 

At the Revolution of 1689, there were serious 
disturbances in which the students of the University 

275 



A Guide to Cities 

were very active; but the Duke of Gordon who held 
the Castle for James II. surrendered in June, 1689. 
The Act of Union of 1707 was very unpopular in 
Edinburgh, where a reaction was felt in favor of 
the exiled House of Stuart. In 1745, during the 
second Jacobite rebellion, Charles the Young Pre- 
tender was welcomed in Edinburgh and held court 
in Holyrood Palace as King of Scotland for a short 
time; but he failed to gain the Castle. 

In 1618, the city wall was finally extended. A 
portion of this is still visible in the Vennel, south of 
the Grassmarket and west of Heriot's Hospital. 

Within the walls the population multiplied, and 
the houses crowded together and rose high into the 
air. Until the middle of the Eighteenth Century, 
the growing population was housed by utilizing 
every square yard of available space and substituting 
tall buildings (locally called lands) for low ones and 
projecting from them overhanging timber additions. 
In this way were developed the narrow alleys and 
closes that covered the northern and southern slopes 
of the ridge along which ran the main street of the 
Old Town. 

Confined within her walls, Edinburgh grew not 
in area but in height and density. Even after the 
Act of Union of the Parliaments of England and 
Scotland, the city kept largely within the walls, as 
if she might still need their shield against the in- 
vader. Until the middle of the Eighteenth Century, 
Edinburgh was content to occupy only the ground 
included in the Old Town. Of the Mediaeval town, 

276 



The City of Edinburgh 

no buildings remain except parts of the Castle and 
St. Giles; of the present Holyrood Palace, only two 
towers date as far back as the reign of James V. 
(1513-1542). 

" In all that concerns cleanliness and comfort and 
decent living, Old Edinburgh was not so much de- 
ficient as according to our notions impossible. Even 
its best folk had only the life of to-day's working 
man. A country gentleman, a successful lawyer, 
and with a seat on the bench almost within reach, 
pays £15 a year for his house. It consists of three 
rooms and a kitchen. One room was for the law- 
yer's consultations and study, another was my lady's 
parlour, the third was a bedroom, where a whole 
household slept, save that the housemaid reposed 
under the kitchen dresser, and the man servant 
found his nightly lodging elsewhere. And of course 
things were still worse among the trades-people. An 
eminent goldsmith had a shop in a booth stuck on 
a wall of St. Giles Church, the nursery and kitchen 
however being placed in a cellar under the level of 
the street, where the children are said to have rotted 
off like sheep. There was scarce a room in the whole 
city without a bed; there was very little water, and 
that was laboriously conveyed by caddies to the tops 
of the tall houses; pigs were kept under projections 
towards the street in which during the day they 
sought their food; as the ground was uneven some 
of the houses were much taller on one side than the 
other, there being as many as fifteen stories in them. 
The closes, as you may see for yourself, are not 

277 



A Guide to Cities 

very broad, and at the top the houses almost touched. 
Too little space, too little water, too little light ; how 
strange were the domesticities of those old citizens! 
And nearly everybody drank too much, washed too 
little, swore horribly and lived roughly. 

" Nature and history had shut all within a narrow 
limit. On the north the Nor' Loch and the Ravine 
prevented building until in 1767 the North Bridge 
was thrown across, and the New Town was made. 
To the west was the Castle Rock, and a wall hemmed 
in the remainder of the city. Thus the builder, 
since he could not go abroad, must go high. Even 
when the Union was an accomplished fact, and the 
walls were mere obstruction, the antique methods of 
building and of living but slowly gave way." * 

In 1788, the North Bridge, which had been com- 
pleted in 1769, connecting the Old Town with the 
fields on the north, was extended southward forming 
the South Bridge which spans the Cowgate and thus 
made a level way to the southern suburbs. A short 
distance to the westward George the Fourth's Bridge 
was erected and later Regent's Bridge, Waterloo 
Place, which spans the valley between Princes Street 
and the Calton Hill and the Dean Bridge over the 
Water of Leith. The new North Bridge was begun 
in 1896. Of late years, many old streets have been 
cut through or widened. 

The Castle is situated on a high rock that descends 
almost perpendicularly on three sides, and slopes 
gradually on the east to Holyrood. 
* Henderson. 
278 



The City of Edinburgh 

Malcolm Canmore left Queen Margaret here when 
he and his sons invaded England in 1093 ; and on 
hearing the news of his death she fell ill and died. 
Her body was secretly carried down the west cliffs 
when the news was received of a new claimant to the 
throne. Edinburgh Castle surrendered to Henry 
II. in 1174, and was captured in 1296 by Edward I. 
and held by the English until, in 1312, Bruce's fol- 
lowers scaled the southern cliff which had until then 
been deemed inaccessible. Edward Baliol returned 
it to the English ; Edward III. refortified it ; and in 
1341 Sir William Douglas recovered it by strata- 
gem. One of the greatest attacks it sustained was 
the siege of thirty-three days for Mary Queen of 
Scots against the Regent Morton and his English 
support under Sir "William Drury; but it was forced 
to capitulate. Cromwell also took the Castle in 
1650, after the Battle of Dunbar, and threatened to 
blow up the historic pile ; and in 1745 it refused to 
open its gates to Prince Charles Edward Stuart. 

The outer gateway, built in 1882, leads to a 
vaulted archway called the Portcullis Gate, over 
which is the Constable's, or Argyll, Tower, the old 
State Prison. This tower was built by David II. in 
1369; and fell in the siege of 1573. It was re- 
stored in 1890. The road winds and passes through 
another gateway to a platform that commands a 
magnificent view. On it stands the famous piece of 
artillery called " Mons Meg," said by some authori- 
ties to have been made at Mons in Hainault in 1846, 
while others say it was made at Castle Douglas in 

279 



A Guide to Cities 

Galloway and given to James II. at the siege of 
Thrieve Castle in 1455. It is repeatedly mentioned 
in Scottish history. 

Mons Meg stands in front of St. Margaret's 
Chapel, which is the oldest building. It occupies 
the very summit of the rock. Some authorities be- 
lieve this was the chapel in which Queen Margaret, 
the wife of Malcolm Canmore, worshipped. If so, 
it is the oldest ecclesiastical building in Scotland. 
It is small — only sixteen feet by ten. The chapel 
was restored in 1853. 

Beyond the platform is situated the Half-Moon 
Battery, from which royal salutes and the time gun 
are fired, the signal for which is given by a ball 
dropped on the top of Nelson's Monument on the 
Calton Hill. 

Beyond the Half-Moon Battery is a quadrangle, 
called Palace- Yard, on the south side of which is 
situated the Great Hall, and on the east side the 
old Palace. The former, also called Parliament 
Hall, is 84 feet by 33 feet, and has an open timber 
roof 45 feet high. This splendid room was built in 
1424, and was used for state receptions. Here the 
Earl of Leven entertained Cromwell in 1648. It 
was restored in 1892 ; and until then had been used 
as a sort of store room for the military hospital for 
two hundred years. 

The Palace dates from the Fifteenth Century, 
with additions of 1566 and 1516. In the south- 
east corner are the apartments occupied by the regent 
Mary de Guise and her daughter, Mary Stuart, and 

280 



The City of Edinburgh 

in the small room on the ground floor, James VI. 
was born on June 19, 1566. Another interesting 
apartment is the Crown Room, in which the regalia 
or the " Honors of Scotland," as these treasures are 
called, are preserved within an iron cage. They 
comprise a crown supposed to date from the days of 
Robert Bruce but ornamented with gold bands by 
James V. in 1536, and last used at the Coronation 
of Charles II. at Scone in 1651; a sceptre, made in 
1536; and a magnificent sword of state given to 
James IY. by Pope Julius II. Yarious jewels, 
badges, orders, etc., belong also to this collection. 

The Arsenal is on the west side of the Castle and 
contains a fine display of arms and armor of vari- 
ous dates. The Picture Gallery (150 feet long, 27 
feet broad and 18 feet high) is hung with some valu- 
able old pictures and a number of fancy portraits of 
ancient Scottish kings. In this hall, the represen- 
tative Peers of Scotland are elected. 

From the Castle, a straight thoroughfare a mile 
long, called successively Lawnmarket, High Street 
and Canongate leads to Holyrood Palace. 

Castle Hill of old was occupied by the mansions 
of the nobility. These have all been destroyed by 
fire, or by modern improvements. 

From this place, the famous West Bow wound 
down to the Grassmarket. Though now transformed 
into a flight of steps, it was formerly the principal 
way by which carriages reached the high ground of 
the city. It took its name from the bow or arch in 
the wall that formed the western gateway of the city. 

281 



A Guide to Cities 

The Grassmarket was the place of public execu- 
tion from 1666 to 1784. The hangman's cart con- 
veyed the condemned to the scaffold down the steep 
West Bow. Among the most famous of these, the 
Marquis of Montrose and the Earl of Argyle may 
be mentioned. The Covenanters were burned in the 
Grassmarket. At the east end of the square a circle 
enclosing a cross marks the spot where the gibbet 
stood. The Castle Hill was the scene of many witch 
burnings. 

From the Grassmarket, Candlemakers Eow will 
take us to Greyfriars Church and Burying Ground, 
formerly a garden belonging to the monastery of the 
Grey Friars, founded by James I. 

" The Friars must have had a pleasant time on 
summer evenings ; for their gardens were situated to 
a wish, with the tall castle and the tallest of the 
castle crags in fr«ont. Even now, it is one of our 
famous Edinburgh points of view ; and strangers are 
led thither to see, by yet another instance, how 
strangely the city lies upon her hills. The inclosure 
is of an irregular shape; the double church of Old 
and New Greyfriars stands on the level at the top; 
a few thorns are dotted here and there, and the 
ground falls by terrace and steep slope toward the 
north. The open shows many slabs and table tomb- 
stones; and all round the margin, the place is girt 
by an array of aristocratic mausoleums appallingly 
adorned." * 

Old Greyfriars Church, erected in 1612 and 
* Robert Louis Stevenson. 
282 



The City of Edinburgh 

burned in 1845, was notable as being the place where 
the Covenant was signed on March 1, 1638, from 
which the popular party received the name of Cove- 
nanters. The paper was signed on the tomb of Bos- 
well of Auchinleck by many nobles and gentry, then 
by three hundred ministers and a great multitude of 
the people. 

The New Greyfriars Church, built in 1721, con- 
tains little of interest. 

" In the ancient graveyard of Greyfriars Church, 
which contains the dust of all the contending fac- 
tions of Scottish history — where the monument of 
the Covenanters recounts their praises almost within 
sight of the Grassmarket where they died; where 
rest the noblest leaders both of the moderate and of 
the stricter party — there rises another stately sepul- 
chre, at once the glory and the shame of Scottish lib- 
erals. It is the ponderous tomb, bolted and barred, 
of Sir George Mackenzie, the Lord Advocate under 
James II. He it is of whom Davie Deans has said 
that i he will be kenned by the name of Bluidy Mac- 
kenzie so long as there's a Scot's tongue to speak the 
word.' " * 

In this churchyard, the 1,200 prisoners taken at 
Bothwell Brig in 1679 were penned under brutal 
conditions because there was no prison large enough 
to hold them. 

On the summit of a ridge lying between the Grass- 
market and the Meadows and adjoining Greyfriars 
Churchyard stands Heriot's Hospital, a charity 
* Dean Stanley. 
283 



A Guide to Cities 

school founded by George Heriot, the goldsmith and 
banker to James VI. of Scotland and I. of Eng- 
land, who, dying in 1624, left property to build a 
hospital for the maintenance and education of poor 
boys. A fine description is given of this donor in 
Scott's " Fortunes of Nigel." Heriot's Hospital was 
begun in 1628 and finished in 1650, and is a noble 
quadrangular edifice in the transitional style of the 
Stuarts. There is much elaborate detail upon it and 
of its two hundred windows no two are alike. It 
is adorned with towers and turrets, and a fine gate- 
way leads into a quadrangle. A statue of Heriot 
is placed above the entrance. It was used for a 
time as a hospital for Cromwell's soldiers. 

Entering High Street from the Lawnmarket, St. 
Giles's Church is on the right. This edifice, which 
has suffered so many mutilations, was built gradu- 
ally from the Twelfth to the Fifteenth Century, and 
originally possessed great architectural beauty. The 
square central tower, surmounted with flying but- 
tresses that form a kind of open crown, still remains, 
and is one of the most imposing architectural fea- 
tures of the city. A narrow passage led from the 
Old Tolbooth to St. Giles; and from 1639 to 1817 
a number of small shops called Emmes, built out- 
side against the walls, existed. Booksellers and jew- 
ellers occupied locked shops called Luchenbooths 
that extended halfway across High Street on the 
north side. 

On High Street, we pass the County Buildings, 
erected in 1902-3, and a bronze statue to the fifth 

284 



The City of Edinburgh 

Duke of Buccleuch. To the east of this a peculiar 
memorial of the past is to be seen, — a heart picked 
out with stones in the pavement — the " Heart of 
Midlothian/' to mark the site of the old Tolbooth, 
or Toll House, which was pulled down in 1817. 
The latter was built about 1466, and was the Par- 
liament House of Scotland till 1640, when the new 
one, now the Supreme Courts, was built on the 
south side of Parliament Square. The Old Tol- 
booth became a prison: heads of offenders were ex- 
posed on a platform facing the Lawnmarket, and 
public executions took place here after 1784. Scott 
in " The Heart of Midlothian " describes the " an- 
cient prison, which, as is well known to all men, 
rears its ancient front in the very middle of the High 
Street, forming, as it were, the termination to a 
huge pile of buildings called the Luckenbooths, 
which, for some inconceivable reason, our ancestors 
had jammed into the midst of the principal street 
of the town, leaving for passage a narrow street on 
the north, and on the south, into which the prison 
opens, a narrow crooked lane, winding betwixt the 
high and sombre walls of the Tolbooth and the ad- 
jacent houses on the one side, and the buttresses and 
projections of the old Cathedral upon the other. To 
give some gaiety to this sombre passage, well known 
by the name of the Krames, a number of little booths 
or shops, after the fashion of cobblers' stalls, are 
plastered, as it were, against the Gothic projections 
and abutments, so that it seemed as if the traders 
had occupied with nests, bearing the same propor- 

285 



A Guide to Cities 

tion to the building, every buttress and coign of van- 
tage, as the martlet did in Macbeth's castle. Of 
later years these booths have degenerated into mere 
toy-shops, where the little loiterers chiefly interested 
in such wares are tempted to linger, enchanted by 
the rich display of hobby-horses, babies and Dutch 
toys, arranged in artful and gay confusion ; yet half- 
scared by the cross looks of the withered pantaloon, 
or spectacled old lady, by whom these tempting stores 
are watched and superintended. But in the times 
we write of the hosiers, the glovers, the hatters, the 
mercers, the milliners, and all who dealt in the mis- 
cellaneous wares now termed haberdashers' goods, 
were to be found in this narrow alley." 

St. Giles's has had strange experiences: at dif- 
ferent times it has been used as a church, a grammar 
school, the Courts of Justice, the town-clerk's office, 
a prison, and the storehouse of the machinery of the 
the gallows. 

In 1466, King James II. made it a Collegiate 
Church ; and at the beginning of the Reformation 
in Scotland it had thirty-six altars. These, together 
with the rood-loft, were destroyed by the Reformers; 
and the statue of St. Giles, the patron saint, was 
thrown into the JSTor' Loch by the mob. The church 
was then divided into four separate places of worship 
and the sacred relics and vessels were sold and the 
money used for the repair and maintenance of the 
building. Very little respect was paid to the sacred 
precincts. Parts of it were used for shops and cor- 
porate offices ; and even criminals were detained 

286 



The City of Edinburgh 

there. John Knox, who was minister there from 
1559 to 1572, conducted divine service in the de- 
lapidated church. Kirkaldy of Grange fortified and 
defended it against the Regent Morton in 1571. 

Before taking his departure to become King of 
England in 1603, James VI. of Scotland made a 
farewell address in this church to his loving subjects, 
promising to uphold Presbyterianism and visit Scot- 
land once every three years at least. However, he 
did not return for fourteen years, and he endeavored 
to re-establish Episcopacy in Scotland. 

His luckless son, Charles I., tried to force the 
episcopal form of church government on the Scots, 
and in 1634, Edinburgh was made a bishopric with 
St. Giles as the cathedral. When the dean attempted 
to read the new liturgy, that was drawn up by Arch- 
bishop Laud, from the pulpit for the first time, 
Jenny Geddes flung her cutty-stool at his head, and 
the service ended in an uproar. The bishop, Lind- 
say, was saved from the violence of the enraged mob 
with difficulty (1637). 

The church contains the monuments of several 
eminent men. That of the Regent Murray is a fac- 
simile reproduction of the one destroyed in 1829. 
There are also memorials of the Marquis of Mon- 
trose and Napier of Merchiston, who were buried 
here. 

Outside the church, on the north-east stands the 
Old City Cross, restored and mounted on a new ped- 
estal at the expense of Mr. Gladstone in 1885. It 
is a stone shaft about twenty feet high, surmounted 

287 



A Guide to Cities 

by a unicorn, the original of which was destroyed 
by Cromwell. It was removed from its conspicuous 
position in the High Street (now marked by a circle 
of stones in the causeway) to the park at Drum near 
Dalkeith; and was brought back in 1866. It was 
the centre around which scholars, merchants and 
gossips congregated. On the king's birthday, in the 
days of the Georges, his health was drunk by the 
magistrates from a platform in front of it. The 
scaffold was erected beside it until 1666. From it 
State proclamations were, and are now again, made 
by heralds. Here the Young Pretender was pro- 
claimed King of England and Scotland in 1745. 

" On the site of the Cross, what terrible mem- 
ories, what keen emotions those memories bring 
forth ! There is Kirkaldy of Grange swinging from 
his gibbet in the sun and slowly lifting up his bound 
hands as Knox had foretold of him; or Montrose, 
like the gallant gentleman he was, goes proud and 
fearless to his doom; or again, his opponent Argyll, 
not less calmly takes his last look on the familiar 
scene before he lays his head down on the block and 
all is over ; or Claverhouse, at the head of his horse, 
thunders over the rough stones of the street on his 
way to the north to Killiecrankie and death and 
fame; or a young Prince, handsome and debonair, 
rides along in the front of victorious forces to take 
possession of the palace of his ancestors." * 

Parliament Square, on the south of St. Giles's, 
was once part of the churchyard. It contains an 
* Henderson. 
288 



The City of Edinburgh 

equestrian statue of Charles II. that was cast in Hol- 
land and set up the year the king died. Close by it 
a square stone inscribed " I. K. 1572 " marks the 
grave of John Knox. The house where he is said 
to have lived is on the High Street where it nar- 
rows beyond the intersection with the North and 
South Bridge. It juts into the street with an exte- 
rior staircase, and the rooms are small, dark and low. 
It is probably the only example of a Sixteenth Cen- 
tury dwelling still standing in the Old Town. 

Canongate is a continuation of High Street and 
leads to Holyrood. Originally belonging to the Ab- 
bey, it was occupied by the Canons and thus received 
its name. As it was close to the Palace, naturally 
enough the nobility built houses here, but their glory 
has now departed. Moray House, built in 1628 by 
the Countess of Home, is now a normal school. In 
1645, it was owned by the Countess of Moray and 
from one of the balconies the Marquis of Argyll, en- 
joying the wedding festivities of his son with the 
Countess's daughter in 1650, watched Montrose 
borne in a cart to the Old Tolbooth. Cromwell used 
this house as headquarters in 1648 and in 1650. 

The Canongate Tolbooth stands opposite ; it was 
built in 1591 for a jail and court-house; but is now 
a register and revenue office. This must not be con- 
fused with the Old Tolbooth that stood next to St. 
Giles's. 

An old Cross once stood in the centre of the street. 
A more modern one, dating from 1688 was placed in 
front of the Canongate Church. 

289 



A Guide to Cities 

A very interesting timber house dating from 1570, 
called the Speaking House and Queensberry House, 
a handsome building in the style of a French cha- 
teau, the residence of the Duke of Queensberry and 
where Gay lived while he was secretary to the 
Duchess, are on the right side. The latter is now 
a House of Refuge. Opposite was situated the fa- 
mous White Horse Inn. Near the Palace is a little 
turreted building known as Queen Mary's Bath, 
through which the murderers of Rizzio escaped. 

A fountain, copied from one at Linlithgow Pal- 
ace, and standing in front of Holyrood Palace, was 
a gift from the Prince Consort. 

One day when King David I. was hunting in the 
forest of Drumsheugh, he was in great danger of 
being wounded by a stag at bay, but a bright cross 
suddenly appeared which put the animal to flight. 
To commemorate his miraculous deliverance, King 
David founded the Abbey of the Holy Cross, Holy- 
rood Abbey. 

Of the old abbey only the nave and some other 
fragments remain in the existing Royal Chapel on 
the north side of the Palace. The nave is large, con- 
sisting of eight bays and aisles. The rest of the 
church chiefly belongs to the Twelfth Century, but 
has suffered greatly from fires. Many royal wed- 
dings took place here, including those of James II. 
and James III., and here Mary Stuart was married 
to Darnley on July 29, 1565. Holyrood was made 
the parish church of the Canongate in 1569; was 
magnificently fitted up by Charles L, who was 

290 



The City of Edinburgh 

crowned here; and Charles II. made it the Chapel 
Royal. In 1688 the mob destroyed it because mass 
had been celebrated here. Holyrood Chapel has been 
several times restored. In this chapel were buried 
James V. and his wife; Rizzio, and Lord Darn- 
ley. 

Queen Mary's apartments, consisting of an audi- 
ence chamber, a bedroom and two small cabinets, 
contain some old furniture, and communicate by a 
private stair in the wall with the rooms occupied by 
Darnley below. In one of the small cabinets, the 
murder of Rizzio took place, and his body was 
thrown down this staircase the top of which enters 
the bedroom. 

Queen Mary was also married to Bothwell in 
Holyrood, but not in the church. 

The Palace of Holyrood was built by James IV. 
and James V. and was burned twice by the English ; 
once in 1544, and by Cromwell's soldiers in 1650. 
The only portion that escaped was the apartments 
occupied by Mary Stuart after her return from 
Erance in 1561. The rest of the Palace was rebuilt 
in 1671-79 after the model of the Chateau of Chan- 
tilly in Erance. 

South of Holyrood is the King's Park in which 
Arthur's Seat is situated, a lofty eminence, 823 feet 
high, named for the legendary King of Round Table 
fame, commanding a superb view. There is a tradi- 
tion that whoever will walk to Arthur's Seat on May 
Day and wash his or her face in the dew at sunrise 
will remain beautiful for a year. 

291 



A Guide to Cities 

The best view of the city is to be obtained from 
Calton Hill. 

" The east of new Edinburgh is guarded by a 
craggy hill, of no great elevation, which the town 
embraces. The old London road runs on one side 
of it; while the New Approach, leaving it on the 
other hand, completes the circuit. You mount by 
stairs in a cutting of the rock to find yourself in a 
field of monuments. Dugald Stewart has the honors 
of situation and architecture ; Burns is memorialized 
lower down upon a spur; Lord Nelson, as befits a 
sailor, gives his name to the top-gallant of the Cal- 
ton Hill. But the chief feature is an unfinished 
range of columns, ' the Modern Ruin ' as it has been 
called, an imposing object from far and near, and 
giving Edinburgh, even from the sea, that false air 
of a Modern Athens which has earned for her so 
many slighting speeches. The old Observatory — a 
quaint brown building on the edge of the steep — and 
the new Observatory — a classical edifice with a dome 
— occupy the central portion of the summit. All 
these are scattered on a green turf, browsed over by 
some sheep. 

" Immediately underneath upon the south, you 
command the yards of the High School, and the 
towers and courts of the new Jail — a large place, 
castellated to the extent of folly, standing by itself 
on the edge of a steep cliff, and often joyfully hailed 
by tourists as the Castle. 

" From the bottom of the valley, a gigantic chim- 
ney rises almost to the level of the eye, a taller and 

292 




o 

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<J 

O 

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P 



The City of Edinburgh 

a shapelier edifice than Nelson's Monument. Look 
a little further, and there is Holyrood Palace. By 
way of an outpost, you can single out the little peak- 
roofed lodge, over which Rizzio's murderers made 
their escape and where Queen Mary herself, accord- 
ing to gossip, bathed in white wine to entertain her 
loveliness. Behind and overhead, lie the Queen's 
Park, from Muschat's Cairn to Dumbiedykes, St. 
Margaret's Loch, and the long wall of Salisbury 
Crags; and thence, by knoll and rocky bulwark and 
precipitous slope, the eye rises to the top of Arthur's 
Seat, a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of 
its bold design. This upon your left. Upon the 
right, the roofs and spires of the Old Town climb 
one above another to where the citadel prints its 
broad bulk and jagged crown of bastions on the 
western sky. To complete the view, the eye enfilades 
Princes Street, black with traffic, and has a broad 
look over the valley between the Old Town and the 
New: here, full of railway trains and stepped over 
by the high North Bridge upon its many columns, 
and there, green with trees and gardens." 

On the northwest side of Calton Hill is Greenside, 
a natural amphitheatre much resorted to in the old 
days. It was a favorite tilting-ground, and plays 
were acted here sometimes in the presence of the 
court. It was also the scene of the death of heretics 
and witches at the stake. 

The New Town has all been built on a plan pro- 
posed by James Craig in 1768 and modified in 1774. 
The new terrace that was to outshine the old High 

293 



A Guide to Cities 

Street was called St. Giles's Street after the patron 
saint of the city; but George III. had it altered to 
Princes Street in honor of the Prince of Wales. 
This famous highway of the New Town, which has 
been called the finest street in Europe, is a mile long 
and quite straight; and is separated from the Old 
Town by the extensive and beautiful Princes Street 
Gardens which occupy the ground formerly covered 
by the waters of the Nor' Loch. Near the east end 
of Princes Street, on the south side, is the Scott 
Monument, an elegant Gothic structure designed by 
G. M. Kemp, a native architect who died before it 
was completed in 1844. It is two hundred feet high 
and two hundred and eighty-seven steps lead to the 
top gallery. Pour arched and pinnacled buttresses 
support a central tower which rises in diminishing 
courses and ends in a pinnacle. The niches are 
filled with sculptural impersonations of the novel- 
ist's principal characters. Beneath the canopy of the 
monument is a statue of Sir Walter seated and at- 
tended by his favorite dog Bevis. 



294 



THE CITY OF DUBLIN 

DUBLIN is beautifully situated on the banks of 
the Liffey that flows into the Bay of Dublin, 
which has been compared in picturesque charm to the 
Bay of Naples. This sheet of water is six miles broad, 
with a sweep of sixteen miles, and is surrounded by 
hills that tower about five hundred feet on the north 
and south. On the north arm of the Bay rises the 
hill of Howth, with its castle and the Bailey Light- 
house, a landmark for many miles out at sea, stand- 
ing on a perpendicular rock, 134 feet above the 
water. Below the waves break upon the outlying 
rocks of the " Lion's Head " and the " Needles," or 
" Candlesticks." On the south of the Bay lies the 
artificial harbor of Kingstown, the principal station 
for the yacht clubs in Ireland, where the yearly re- 
gattas are held. All the way between Kingstown 
and Dublin, the country is beautifully cultivated, and 
displays a constant succession of terraces, villas, 
wooded parks and country-houses, with the Dublin 
mountains for a background. 

" Dublin's attraction must be due partly to its 
wholesome sea air and its delightful surroundings; 
for it is planted on one of the most admirable bays 
and among rising fields behind which olive hills un- 
dulate. These first catch your eye when you enter 

295 



A Guide to Cities 

the bay; they begin with the long headland of 
Howth, thence wind inland and come back to the 
sea at Killiney, and thence wander close to it. No 
town was ever more fortunately placed, or more con- 
stantly dogged by misfortune. You feel this at 
once : for from the first you are aware of Celtic res- 
ignation to sorrow. Dublin was first called (it is 
said) Bally ath-Cliath, the Castle at the Ford of the 
Hurdles, and then Dubh-linn, the Black Stream, 
from its dark river ; and it preserved this Celtic title 
throughout the long control of the Danes, though 
elsewhere, as in Wexford or Waterford, they named 
their strong towns. In the same way, despite the 
longer domination of England, it remains Celtic. 

" In the heart of the quiet city you come on a huge 
solid tower ; this is all that is left of the Castle, the 
fortress that loomed over Ireland. In Queen Eliza- 
beth's time it shadowed the life of the furthest clans ; 
there was no chief, however remote his country 
might be, who did not dread it as a probable dun- 
geon, and reflect that his head might blacken above 
it, spiked on its roof. Shane the Proud's head rotted 
there, food for the crows. Within its walls many 
were tortured, and even its rulers, the Deputies, were 
acquainted with suffering; Kildare and Perrot and 
Essex and Strafford saw calamity coming, and from 
the Castle found their way to the Tower. ISTow its 
old strength has departed; the wide moat has van- 
ished, and so has one of the twin strongholds, and 
the other remains an obsolete hulk. 

" If you are concerned with the past, you can find 
296 



The City of Dublin 

many old houses linked with desperate rebels, or 
with hunted informers; but these remembrances ap- 
pear quite as unnatural as those of the Castle. Dub- 
lin looks as if it was built for pleasure and quiet- 
ness; indeed it has a curious resemblance to Paris, 
though you have to imagine that city fallen and re- 
signed to its fall. This look and something friendly 
and homely in its ways have combined with its sur- 
roundings to lend it that peculiar attraction." * 

Little is known of Dublin before the Danes estab- 
lished a kingdom here in the Ninth Century. The 
Danes were defeated in 1014 by Brian Boru, King 
of Munster, at Clontarf, where the chieftain was 
mortally wounded and lost 11,000 men. 

In 1170, the Anglo-Normans took Dublin and 
drove away Prince Hasculf, who returned in the fol- 
lowing year with a fleet of sixty ships. He was, 
however, captured and put to death. Two years 
later, Henry II. of England visited Dublin and re- 
ceived homage from some of the Irish chieftains out- 
side the city walls in the place that is now College 
Green; gave Dublin to colonists from Bristol by 
charter; and made it the seat of government in Ire- 
land and the centre of the " English Pale," by which 
name the small district around Drogheda and Dub- 
lin, over which the English Crown had authority, 
was known. 

After the death of Dermod MacMurragh, the de- 
posed king of Leinster, in 1171, the succession to the 
Kingdom of Leinster was claimed by his son-in-law, 
* Frank Mathew. 
297 



A Guide to Cities 

Eichard EitzGislebert, Earl of Pembroke, surnamed 
" Strongbow," leader of the Anglo-Normans. Strong- 
bow died in Dublin in 1177 and was buried in 
Christchurch. 

Dublin was now a walled town protected bj the 
fine Castle. The enclosure with its gates and towers 
ran from Ship Street to Werburgh Street by St. 
Audoen's Arch to the river, to Parliament Street 
and to the Castle. Old foundations show that there 
was a bridge over the Liffey where Whitworth now 
crosses. 

Dublin was frequently attacked by the people from 
Wicklow. A memorable massacre of the citizens 
while merry-making took place at Cullenswood, 
called ever afterwards " Bloody Fields/' on Easter, 
or " Black Monday/' 1209. The city also suffered 
a siege by Edward Bruce in 1316. 

In 1394, Eichard II. entered Dublin with 30,000 
bowmen, 4,000 cavalry, and the Crown jewels. He 
made a fine display, conferred knighthoods on sev- 
eral natives, and returned to England. Five years 
later, he paid another visit ; but, while he was being 
entertained by the chief magistrate, he was called 
home by the rising of Bolingbroke, which cost him 
his crown and life. 

Though Dublin submitted to Henry VII., Thomas 
Eitzgerald, son of the Earl of Kildare, who was also 
the Viceroy of Henry VIII., revolted in 1534, and 
renounced his allegiance to England in St. Mary's 
Abbey. " Silken Thomas," as he was called on ac- 
count of the fantastic ribbons he and his followers 

298 



The City of Dublin 

wore in their helmets, was finally captured and exe- 
cuted at Tyburn in London. 

Dublin had troubles during the Civil War, and 
was for some time successfully defended by the Mar- 
quis of Ormonde, who was defeated at the Battle of 
Rathmines in 1649. In 1690, James II. entered 
Dublin in triumph ; held a Parliament at the King's 
Inns ; and established a mint. His conqueror, Will- 
iam III., came to Dublin after the Battle of the 
Boyne, and gave thanks for the victory in St. Pat- 
rick's Cathedral. 

In 1798, the United Irishmen, of whom Lord Ed- 
ward Fitzgerald, a younger son of the Duke of 
Leinster, was one of the leaders, endeavored to cap- 
ture the city; but Lord Edward was captured in- 
stead, and died in prison of the wounds he had re- 
ceived during the struggle. 

In 1800, the separate Irish Parliament came to 
an end. In 1803, the young lawyer, Robert Emmett, 
headed an insurrection which was ended with loss 
of life and several executions. During the out- 
break Lord Kildare was pulled out of his carriage 
in Thomas Street and killed. 

In 1867, Dublin was the centre of the Fenian 
troubles. As many as 960 arrests were made in a 
few hours. The Castle was fortified, and the peo- 
ple lived in a state of terror for several weeks. 

The Liffey runs through Dublin much like the 
Seine through Paris, dividing the city into two sec- 
tions. In mediaeval days, much of the land on both 
sides of the river was owned by the Dominican, Au- 

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A Guide to Cities 

gustine and Cistercian monks, who built fine abbeys 
here, and whose possessions were seized by the Crown 
on the suppression of the monasteries. Though most 
of the ancient churches, including the two cathedrals, 
were built on the South side, the North side in the 
Eighteenth Century was the fashionable quarter of 
the town; and many fine buildings and handsome 
houses were erected here. In the Nineteenth Cen- 
tury, the South side became the fashionable district ; 
and the city has therefore grown in this direction. 
On the North, however, lies Sackville Street, one 
of the handsomest streets in Europe, with its Nel- 
son Pillar, 134 feet high, surmounted by a statue of 
Nelson, erected in 1808. From this point trams run 
in all directions, north and south, east and west, to 
the suburbs, parks, and villages and resorts on the 
coast. 

The harbor is a fine one. The great work of con- 
structing embankments and quays was begun in 
1714. Lighthouses stand at the end of both the 
North Wall and the South Wall, — those long granite 
quays that extend into the Bay of Dublin for more 
than three miles. At the end of the South Wall, 
which begins at Pingsend, near the mouth of the 
Dodder, stands the Pigeon House, once a custom- 
house, then a fort, arsenal and barracks, and now a 
power station for electric light. Beyond the North 
Wall, the Bull Wall protects the harbor from the 
Sands of the North Bull. 

The LifTey is bordered with docks on both sides 
as far as the Custom House on the North banks and 

300 



The City of Dublin 

the Loop Line Railway and Butt Bridges. Quays, 
called by different names, continue on both sides as 
far as Phoenix Park; and at intervals the river is 
spanned by handsome bridges. Next to Butt, or the 
Swivel Bridge, built in 1878, comes Dublin's finest 
bridge, O'Connell, built in 1880 to replace the old 
Carlisle Bridge of 1794. This connects Westmore- 
land Street on the south side with Sackville Street 
on the north, and is of the same width as the latter. 
Three rows of lamps render it brilliant at night. A 
beautiful view is to be had from this bridge down 
the LifTey towards the Custom House, embracing the 
docks crowded with ships, Sackville Street with Nel- 
son's Pillar and the Post Office, while up the river 
the glance takes in the Four Courts, the towers of 
Christchurch and the lofty tower of the modern Au- 
gustinian Church in Thomas Street. The next 
bridge is the Wellington, a light iron bridge of one 
arch, constructed in 1816 and also called the Metal 
Bridge. Then comes Grattan, originally the Essex 
Bridge, built in 1678 and rebuilt in 1874. Rich- 
mond is the next, of three arches made of Portland 
stone and supplied with an iron balustrade. This 
dates from 1816, as does also the next, Whitworth 
Bridge, replacing one that perished in the flood of 
1812, known variously as the Old, the Ormonde and 
the Dublin, and made by the Dominicans in 1427. 
Next comes the Queen's Bridge, of three arches, 
built in 1768 to replace Arran Bridge which per- 
ished in a flood; then the Victoria, or Barracks 
Bridge, erected in 1859 on the site of Bloody Bridge, 

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A Guide to Cities 

a rude stone structure, the name of which, according 
to one tradition^ was derived from a battle in which 
the English were defeated by the Irish in 1408. 
King's Bridge, built in 1821, to commemorate the 
visit of George IV. to Ireland, crosses near the Great 
Southern and Western Railway Station near the en- 
trance to Phoenix Park. A railway bridge also 
crosses the river between King's Bridge and Island 
Bridge. The latter is also called Sarah Bridge, after 
Sarah, Countess of Westmoreland, who laid the first 
stone in 1791. 

Running along the steep slopes known as the 
" Strawberry Beds," the Liffey skirts Phoenix Park 
and the suburbs on the west. 

Phoenix Park takes its name from Fionn Uisg' 
(pronounced feenisk, and meaning clear water). It 
contains 1,752 acres, the greater part of which be- 
longed to the Knights of St. John, Kilmainham, 
but which went to the Crown on the dissolution of 
the monasteries. The original grant was given by 
Charles II. Lord Chesterfield erected the Pillar 
surmounted by a phoenix near the famous spring of 
Fionn Uisg', in 1747, and planted the Park with 
trees. Many of the splendid elms were blown down 
in the great elm avenue during a storm in 1903. On 
the left of the chief entrance near King's Bridge 
stands the Wellington Monument, erected in 1817, 
an Obelisk, 205 feet high, with bronze panels of the 
Iron Duke's famous battles. Some distance west, is 
the Magazine Port, of which Dean Swift sarcastical- 
ly wrote: 

302 



The City of Dublin 

"Behold! a proof of Irish sense; 
Here Irish wit is seen! 
When nothing's left that's worth defence 
We build a magazine!" 

The Park has fine cricket and polo grounds, and 
reviews are held in the space known as " Fifteen 
Acres," which really comprises two hundred. 

On the right of the entrance is the People's Gar- 
den, containing a lake ; and not far away are the bar- 
racks of the Eoyal Irish Constabulary and the Koyal 
Military Infirmary. Just beyond the People's Gar- 
den are the Zoological Gardens, noted for their splen- 
did lions. Further west is situated the Viceregal 
Lodge, the summer residence of the Lord Lieutenant 
of Ireland; the Mountjoy Barracks; and the Hiber- 
nian Military School. It was opposite the Viceregal 
Lodge on the main road that Lord Frederick Caven- 
dish and Mr. Burke were assassinated on May 6, 
1882. 

Knockmaroon Gate leads to the Strawberry Beds 
and the Furry, or Furze Glen, from which a charm- 
ing view is to be enjoyed. 

On the opposite side of the Liffey a road runs to 
the Kilmainham Hospital, the residence of the Com- 
mander of the Forces in Ireland. The building, 
which is approached by a superb avenue of old trees, 
was erected in 1680-84 from designs by Sir Christo- 
pher Wren at the instance of the Duke of Ormonde, 
for " ancient, maimed and infirm officers and sol- 
diers." It is a quadrangular building facing a court. 
The Great Hall occupies the centre with a Chapel 

303 



A Guide to Cities 

on one side and the master's apartment on the other. 
The Hall (100 feet long) contains a fine collection 
of arms and armor; and the Chapel some splendid 
carvings by Grinling Gibbons, and a window pre- 
sented by Queen Victoria to commemorate her visit 
of 1849. 

From this point, James Street leads past Swift's 
Hospital, founded in 1749 by a bequest from Dean 
Swift; Steeven's Hospital; and the enormous Guin- 
ness Brewery which occupies more than forty acres, 
extending to the Liffey. On our right lies the old 
district known as the " Liberties of St. Patrick," 
once the centre of the silk and poplin factories, a net- 
work of narrow, dingy streets, many of which have 
been opened up of late years. 

Continuing our way eastwards along the south 
side, we come to Dublin Castle on Cork Hill. Little 
of the original fortress, finished in 1223, remains. 
With its single curtain wall, surmounted by four 
towers and surrounded by a moat, it formed a strong 
defence. Under its courtyard the hidden river Pod- 
die flows to join the LifTey. Since 1565, Dublin 
Castle has been the official seat of the Irish Govern- 
ment and the winter residence of the Viceroy. . The 
chief entrance is from Cork Hill ; and the Viceregal 
apartments and offices are on the south side of the 
quadrangle. In the Throne Room is preserved the 
throne made for George IV. In St. Patrick's Hall, 
the Knights of St. Patrick are now invested with 
this Order. On the walls hang the arms and ban- 
ners of the Knights of St. Patrick. 

304 



The City of Dublin 

The present Chapel was built in 1814 to replace 
an older one, and contains some fine windows. The 
Record Tower, also called the Wardrobe Tower, from 
the fact that the robes were kept there until it be- 
came, in 1579, a storehouse for state papers, is the 
only one of the original four towers that remains. 
The Birmingham Tower, near the Ship Street en- 
trance, was rebuilt in 1775 and contains a fine sup- 
per-room. It was in former days the State prison. 

St. Werburgh's Church, near the Castle, was 
originally the Chapel Royal. The first edifice was 
built in the days of Henry II. In its vaults Lord 
Edward Fitzgerald was buried. 

Adjoining the Castle on Cork Hill the Guild of 
Merchants erected the Royal Exchange in 1779, a 
handsome building of the Corinthian Order with 
three fronts, porticoes and columns. In 1852, this 
became the property of Dublin and was converted 
into the City Hall. All the royal charters, ancient 
books and the original grant of the city by Henry II. 
to the men of Bristol are kept here, as well as the 
old regalia. 

Cork Hill was until recently a district of narrow 
streets crowded with houses. These were cleared 
away, and Lord Edward Street, named for Lord Ed- 
ward Fitzgerald, was cut through from Dame Street 
in 1886. Lord Edward Street will, therefore, take 
us to Christchurch. This, the Cathedral of the Holy 
Trinity, was founded in 1038 by Sigtryg Silkbeard, 
King of the Danes in Dublin, and Donatus, a Dan- 
ish Bishop. Their original plan may be seen in the 

305 



A Guide to Cities 

Crypt ; but the old church disappeared when Strong- 
bow, Fitz-Stephen and Raymond le Gros, with Arch- 
bishop O' Toole, erected an English cathedral on the 
foundations about 1172. St. Patrick's soon became 
a rival church; but Christchurch kept its place as 
the mother church and the Chapel Royal. In 1870, 
Christchurch was made the Cathedral of Dublin and 
Glendalough while St. Patrick's became the National 
Cathedral. 

In 1486, the imposter Lambert Simnel was 
crowned in Christchurch with a crown taken from 
a statue of the Virgin in St. Mary's Abbey; and in 
this church up to the Sixteenth Century all the high 
officers of state and city were sworn into office. 
William III. presented splendid plate to Christ- 
church after his victories. 

Christchurch underwent a complete restoration in 
1870. Only the transepts and one bay of the choir 
of Strongbow's building remain. Strongbow's tomb, 
with its recumbent effigy in chain-armor, is the most 
famous relic in the church. The nave, the floor, the 
bapistery and the chapels are all restorations of the 
original Gothic work. The Synod House is new. 
It is entered by a covered bridge, and is built on the 
site of St. Michael the Archangel, the old tower of 
which is preserved. ]STear Christchurch is the Corn 
Market, the last surviving of the Mediaeval parochial 
churches in Dublin. St. Audoen deserves a visit, 
though some of it is unroofed and in ruins. The 
small western doorway is of the Twelfth Century; 
but the rest is of late Pointed architecture. Sev- 

306 



The City of Dublin 

eral old tombs and monuments are contained in the 
southeast chapel. A gateway stands near St. Audo- 
en's and fragments of the old city walls can be seen 
here. 

A short walk down Nicholas and Patrick Streets 
will take us from Christchurch to St. Patrick's 
Cathedral, the " Westminster Abbey of Ireland." 
In 1190, the Archbishop of Dublin adopted the old 
Celtic church of St. Patrick de Insula for a Collegi- 
ate church to supersede the more ancient Christ- 
church. His successor, Henry de Loundes, raised it 
to the dignity of a cathedral in 1212. St. Patrick's 
had always been venerated on account of its holy 
well at which baptisms took place. The site of St. 
Patrick's Well was determined in 1901 by the dis- 
covery of an ancient Celtic cross at the base of the 
first pillar in the south transept. 

Within its walls, or " liberty," and the adjoining 
" liberty " of St. Sepulchre, the Archbishops of Dub- 
lin practically ruled. All the old manses and fortifi- 
cations have now disappeared. 

Though much of St. Patrick's was destroyed by 
fire, some portions are still very old and date from 
the Thirteenth Century. St. Patrick's was repaired 
and restored in 1866-1869 by Sir Benjamin Lee 
Guiness at a cost of £150,000 ($750,000) ; and his 
sons, Lord Iveagh and Lord Ardilaun, have given 
great sums of late years for its maintenance. 

St. Patrick's is very large — 300 feet long — built 
in the form of a cross with a nave and eight bays, 
and a Lady Chapel. In the Chapter House, the 

307 



A Guide to Cities 

Knights of St. Patrick, which Order was founded 
in 1783, were installed up to 1869. St. Patrick's 
contains many fine monuments and brasses ; and the 
tombs of Dean Swift and Stella, who are buried side 
by side in the south side of the nave. There are two 
peals of bells: one, of four, dates from 1670; the 
other, of ten, was presented to the Cathedral by Lord 
Iveagh in 1897. The latter also had a portion of 
the slums cleared away to make St. Patrick's Park, 
and also gave Iveagh House in the vicinity to the 
people. 

Dame Street and Westmoreland Street meet at 
College Green ; and from this point the public build- 
ings make a splendid show. Here we have the Bank 
of Ireland, and Trinity College with its numerous 
halls and towers; while down Grafton Street, a 
fashionable thoroughfare ending at St. Stephen's 
Green, other buildings appear. Between Grafton 
Street and Merrion Square are grouped a number of 
museums, art-galleries and the homes of various 
artistic, literary and scientific societies. 

The Bank of Ireland is a magnificent building. 
It was originally the Irish House of Parliament, and 
was begun in 1729. Over the principal portico are 
the Royal Arms and statues of Hibernia with Fidel- 
ity and Commerce on either side. An open colon- 
nade extends on each side to the wings. The east 
front facing College Street was built by James Gan- 
don in 1785, for the entrance to the House of Lords. 
The statues over the entrance are Fortitude, Justice 
and Liberty. The House of Commons was destroyed 

308 



The City of Dublin 

by a fire in 1792 and rebuilt. In the old House of 
Lords, a statue of George III. occupies the place of 
the throne, and there are two large pieces of tapestry 
dating from 1733 and depicting the Battle of the 
Boyne and the Siege of Derry. 

Trinity College, founded in 1591, consists of a 
noble pile of buildings of granite and limestone in 
the Greek style of architecture beautifully grouped 
in a fine park of twenty-eight acres. The principal 
fagade (300 feet long) faces College Green. A 
splendid hall, called the Regent's House, a beautiful 
Chapel, a Theatre, and a Dining-hall, situated in the 
quadrangle, Parliament Square, were erected by the 
generosity of the Irish Parliament in the Eighteenth 
Century. In the centre of the square, a Campanile 
(100 feet high) was built in 1852. 

The Library (270 feet long) stands in Library 
Square and consists of a valuable collection of an- 
cient MSS., among which is the Booh of Kelts, " the 
most beautiful book in the world." This Library 
was founded in 1601 to commemorate the Battle of 
Kinsale, the soldiers subscribing seven hundred 
pounds " out of the arrears of their pay." Trinity 
College Library has a free copy of every book pub- 
lished in Great Britain, according to the Library Act 
of 1801. Among other treasures, the Library con- 
tains an old Irish Harp, said to have belonged to 
Brian Boru. 

The Schools, built in 1856, consisting of lecture 
rooms, halls, museums, etc., is also a fine edifice. 
College Park and Fellows' Gardens are of great ex- 

309 



A Guide to Cities 

tent. The latter contains an old well that has been 
called " St. Patrick's Well " for hundreds of years. 
All of this land originally belonged to the Augustine 
Monastery of All Hallows, founded here in 1166. 

St. Stephen's Green, of twenty-two acres, beauti- 
fully laid out with walks, shrubbery, cascades and 
lakes, was opened as a public park in 1880 through 
the generous gift of Lord Ardilaun. An equestrian 
statue of George II. ornaments the centre. In the 
Eighteenth Century the Square was chiefly residen- 
tial; but business has now taken possession of the 
west and north sides. On the west side, we find the 
Royal College of Surgeons, erected by the Govern- 
ment in 1806, at a cost of £25,000. Its pediment 
is surmounted by statues of Minerva, Esculapius and 
Hygeia. The College comprises schools, a library, 
hall and a museum. 

On the north side of St. Stephen's Green are vari- 
ous Clubs and the Palace of the Archbishop of Dub- 
lin; on the east side, the Royal College of Science; 
and south of St. Stephen's are the Catholic Univer- 
sity College and the Royal University. 

Passing down Kildare Street that leads from the 
north side of St. Stephen's Green, we come to Lein- 
ster House, built in 1745, the former residence of 
the Duke of Leinster in grounds that extend to Mer- 
rion Square. Since 1815 it has been the home of the 
Royal Dublin Society. 

Here are also situated the Science and Art Mu- 
seum and National Library — two buildings of simi- 
lar style dating from 1890. The collection of Irish 

310 



The City of Dublin 

Antiquities and examples of Early Christian Art are 
among the finest in Europe. Here are the splendid 
processional cross of Cong made by order of Tur- 
loch O'Connor in 1123 ; the silver chalice of Ardagh, 
ornamented with gold filigree work and enamelled 
beads; and St. Patrick's bell, supposed to have be- 
longed to St. Patrick himself. 

Adjoining the National Library is the National 
Gallery, facing a pretty park called Leinster Lawn, 
in which a few statues are scattered. This was 
opened in 1864, and contains many fine pictures by 
old and modern masters. 

A few yards north of St. Stephen's Green, we find 
the Mansion House, the residence of the Lord Mayor 
since 1715. The Round Room, 90 feet in diameter 
and lighted by a lantern at the top, was built to 
entertain George IV. in 1821. The Oak Room is 
noted for its panelling. 

Having now seen the principal sights of the South 
side, we will cross O'Connell Bridge to the North 
side. 

The Custom House on Eden Quay not far from 
O'Connell Bridge is the finest building in Dublin, 
as far as the exterior is concerned. The south side 
facing the river is the handsomest of the four deco- 
rated fagades. This has a central Doric portico of 
four columns supporting an entablature on which 
England and Ireland are seated on a shell drawn by 
sea horses, while Neptune is vanquishing Famine 
and Despair. On either side of the portico extend 
wings with open arcades. The interior consists of 

311 



A Guide to Cities 

two courts and an impressive mass of buildings sur- 
mounted by a dome on which stands a figure of Hope 
resting on an anchor. The Custom House is sur- 
rounded by an open space. Since all the customs 
were concentrated in London, this building has been 
used for various Government offices. 

Sackville Street, a hundred and twenty feet broad 
and about seven hundred feet long, is one of the 
handsomest streets in Europe. In the centre stands 
the Nelson Pillar; and on the west side the large 
Post Office, a granite building completed in 1818 
with a portico 80 feet wide ornamented with six 
fluted columns and a pediment with the Eoyal Arms 
and statue of Hibernia, Mercury and Fidelity. At 
the top of the street the Rotunda stands facing Rut- 
land Square. This building takes its name from a 
round room 80 feet in diameter, and contains other 
rooms that are used for public entertainments. 
Near it, on Great Britain Street, stands the hand- 
some Rotunda Hospital, the chapel of which is or- 
namented with a most elaborate ceiling of Italian 
stucco-work of the Eighteenth Century. 

Westwards from the Rotunda and across Domin- 
ick Street stands the King's Inn on Henrietta Street 
facing Constitution Hill. This handsome building, 
with a central edifice surmounted by a cupola and 
flanked by wings of two stories each, was designed by 
Gandon and erected in 1765. The Dining Hall and 
Library are beautifully ornamented rooms. The 
title of King's Inn was bestowed on Preston's Inn 
(the only inn of court in Dublin) when Henry VIII. 

312 






The City of Dublin 

received the title " King of Ireland " in 1541 ; and 
the confiscated Dominican Monastery of St. Saviour, 
founded in 1224 on the north bank of the Lifley 
where the Four Courts now stands, was bestowed 
upon the society. The Four Courts now occupies 
the whole of King's Inn Quay between the Rich- 
mond and Whitworth bridges, consists of a main 
building, built in 1786-1800 by Thomas Cooley and 
James Gandon, and several minor courts and offices 
in the rear. It is a very handsome structure with 
a frontage of 450 feet, and having a central portico 
of six Corinthian Columns surmounted by a statue 
of Moses accompanied by Justice and Mercy. The 
dome that surmounts the central division is 64 feet 
in diameter. 

There are a few interesting churches on this side 
of the river. Behind the Four Courts stands St. 
Miehan's, the foundation of which dates from 1095. 
The present church is a restoration of a Seventeenth 
Century building; but the handsome tower is earlier. 
A much handsomer church is that of St. George, 
near Mont joy Square in the northernmost part of 
the city, erected in 1802, which has a lofty tower 
and steeple of 200 feet, and a portico with four 
fluted columns. 

The Church of St. Saviours in Dominick Street, 
built in 1858, is a good example of modern Gothic 
architecture. 

On the north bank there remains a fragment of St. 
Mary's Abbey, where " Silken Thomas " renounced 
his allegiance to England in 1534, a vaulted build- 

313 



A Guide to Cities 

ing of four bays now occupied as a store. It was 
originally a Benedictine monastery, and then became 
the great Cistercian Abbey. It occupied a large tract 
of land on the Liffey. 

In comparison with most European capitals, Dub- 
lin shows little life or brilliancy. 

" The first thing you notice is its depopulated 
look; its wide streets are so empty and so many of 
its big houses seem quite deserted that one could im- 
agine that one was visiting a city abandoned by most 
of its inmates. Nor is this notion transitory; for 
when you explore outlying streets tenanted by the 
poorest, you find in them houses that must once have 
been splendid. Here you might think is a city that 
was afiluent once and has for some reason declined. 
You are not told of a tragical past, but of a former 
wealth. 

" Beyond doubt, Dublin was more prosperous 
once and more animated; but it never was rich. 
What about the merry old times when it boasted a 
Parliament? Tradition has glorified these, and it 
must be allowed that contemporary letters and news- 
papers tell of rejoicings then held in those desolate 
homes; but if you enquire closer, you find how un- 
substantial those pageants were. Many of them were 
the insensate displays of a bankrupt magnificence: 
there were hours when the grey city was lit by the 
brief splendour of prodigals; but around that illu- 
sive light there was poverty, within sound of those 
irrational feasts there was starvation." * 
* Frank Mathew. 
314 



The City of Dublin 

From Nelson's Pillar, trams run every few min- 
utes to the suburbs on the south and north. The 
southern environs are very delightful. Harold's 
Cross, an old village, is the nearest; Kathmines, an- 
other village, two miles away, is famous for the 
" Bloody Fields," where the early English colonists 
of Dublin were slaughtered by the Irish of Wicklow 
on Easter Monday, 1209. Here also the Royalist 
troops under the Duke of Ormonde were defeated in 
1649 by Cromwell's forces. Further south lies 
Rathfarnham, where there is an old castle built in 
Queen Elizabeth's time; and still further we find 
the fashionable suburb of Dundrum. Everybody 
has heard of the boisterous Donnybrook Fair at 
which the pugnacious Irishman was ready to hit any 
head on general principles. The old town of Donny- 
brook lies about two miles and a half away on the 
bank of the river Dodder that flows into the Liffey 
from the south. The Fair that was licensed in 1204 
was not abolished until 1855. 

Sandymount is also reached by tram and lies on 
the coast. A pretty walk can be taken south to 
Merrion along the Rock Road, or north to Irishtown 
and thence back to Dublin by way of the South Wall 
and the Pigeon House. 

Turning now to the northern suburbs Clontarf 
(meadow of the bulls) is a charming spot, to which 
trams run every few minutes from Nelson's Pillar, 
where the battle was fought between the Danes and 
the Irish under Brian Boru. A beautiful mansion, 
built in 1835, stands on the site of Clontarf Castle, 

315 



A Guide to Cities 

one of the oldest castles within the English Pale, 
and which belonged originally to the Knights Temp- 
lars. 

Beyond, Dollymount, with its noted Golf Links, 
is situated near the Bull Wall and Pier which pro- 
tects the harbor of Dublin from the sands of the 
North Bull. 

Two miles north from Nelson's Pillar lies Glas- 
nevin (Naeidhen's Brook), and between it and Fing- 
las (clear stream), two miles farther to the west, are 
situated the Botanic Gardens, established in 1790 
and consisting of about forty acres. The palms, 
orchids and ferns are particularly remarkable. This 
was the home of the poet Tickell ; and in the vicinity 
also resided Swift, Addison, Steele, Delaney and 
Parnell. The avenue of yew trees is still called 
" Addison's Walk." At Finglas there is an old 
Cross and an old church. William III. and his army 
rested here after the Battle of the Boyne. In early 
times, Finglas was the place for the May games, 
which were ended in 1843. 



316 



INDEX 



AMSTERDAM, 124-159. 

Amstel Vesten, 131. 

Binnen-Amstel, The, 151. 

Botanic Gardens, 157. 

Buitenkant, The, 150. 

Criers' Tower, The, 150. 

Custom House. See Tol- 
huis. 

Dam, The, 129, 142, 147. 

Damrak, The, 140. 

Damrak Straat, 146. 

Docks, The, 149-150. 

East Park, 157. 

Exchange, The New, 146, 
149. 

Exchange, The Old, 142, 
149. 

Haarlemmer Meer, or Haar- 
lem Meer, 125. 

Haarlemmer Polder, 125. 

Heerengracht, The, 128, 143. 

Hollandisch Diep, 126. 

Jewish Quarter, 151. 

Jodenbree Straat, 152. 

Kalver Straat, 146. 

Keisersgracht, The, 128, 143. 

Merwede Canal, The, 130. 

Mint Tower, The, 151. 

Montalbaans, 150. 



Nieuwe Kerk, The, 147-148. 
Nieuwe Markt, The, 136, 

150. 
North Holland Canal, 130. 
Open Haven, The, 150. 
Oude Kerk, The, 142, 146- 

147. 
Oude Schans, 150, 151. 
Palace on the Dam, The, 

129, 147, 149, 154. 
Paulus Potter Straat, 157. 
Prinsengracht, 128. 
Prins-Hendrik-Kade, 150. 
Kembrandt's House, 151- 

152. 
Ryks Museum, The, 129, 

154-157. 
Sarphati Park, 157. 
Schellingwoude, 130. 
Schreyerstoren, The, 150. 
Singelgracht, The, 128, 129, 

143, 155. 
St. Antonieswaag, 136, 150- 

151. 
Stadhouders Kade, 154. 
Stadthuis, The, 141. See 

Town Hall. 
Stedelyk Museum, The, 129, 

157. 



317 



Index 



Synagogues, 151. 
Tea Gardens, 158. 
Tolhuis, The, 130, 158. 
Town Hall, 148-149. 
Trippenhuis, The, 151, 154. 
Venice of the North, The, 

129, 142. 
Vondel's Park, 157. 
Warmoes Straat, 146, 147. 
Weepers' Tower, The, 150. 
West Park, 157. 
Willems-Park, 157. 
Willems-Sluis, 130. 
Y, The, 128, 129, 130, 158. 
Zwanenburger-Straat, 152. 
Zoological Gardens, 158. 

ANTWERP, 63-98. 
Avenues, The, 80, 91. 
Bassins, The, 73. 
Bells of Cathedral, 80-82. 
Berchem, 92. 
Borgerhout, 92. 
Borgerhout Gate, 69. 
Borgt, The, 63, 74. See 

Steen. 
Boucherie, 79, 94. 
Bourse. See Exchange. 
Canal au Sucre, 67. 
Cathedral of Notre Dame, 

80-85. 
Docks, The, 73-74. 
Eglise St. Jacques. See St. 

James's. 
Exchange, The, 66, 88, 142. 
Gate of the Scheldt, 73. 
Grand Bassin, The, 73, 

91. 
Grand' Place, 67, 77, 79. 
Hotel de Ville, 67, 78-79. 



House of Rubens's Parents, 
86. 

Maison Hanseatique, The, 
73. 

Marche" aux Gants, 77, 80. 

Marche" aux Souliers, 87. 

Marche" du Vendredi, 96. 

Meat Market, The, 79. 

Musee Royal des Beaux- 
Arts, 92-94. 

Palais Royal, 87. 

Palais du Roi. See Palais 
Royal. 

Park, The, 91. 

Pepiniere, The, 91. 

Place de Meir, 86, 87, 88, 
91. 

Place Verte, 81, 85, 86, 87. 

Plantin Museum, 96-98. 

Rubens's Chapel, 90. 

Rue des Douze Mois, 88. 

Rue Rubens, 86. 

Scheldt, The, 72, 73, 80, 82. 

Statues, 85, 87. 

St. James's, 89-91. 

St. Laurent, 92. 

St. Paul's, 91-95. 

Steen, The, 74-76. 

Steen Dock, The, 74. 

Vlaamisch Hoofd, 80. 

Zoological Gardens, 92. 

CHRISTIANIA, 250-269. 
Aker, The, 256, 261. 
Akerhus, 250, 251, 252, 256, 

262. 
Akers Church, 262-263. 
Akersdal, 250. 
Akerselven, 256. 
Akers Gaden, 261, 262. 



318 



Index 



Bispe Gaarden. See Bish- 
op's Palace. 
Bishop's Palace, The, 264- 

265. 
Bjorviken, 250, 256. 
Bygdey. See Bygdo. 
Bygdo, 266-267. 
Carl Johan's Gade, 257, 258, 

260, 261. 
Christiania Fjord, 250, 251- 

252, 255, 259, 266, 269. 
Church of St. Olaf, 262. 
Custom House, 256. 
Drammens Veien, 258. 
Eidsvolds Plads, 260, 261. 
Ekeburg, 252, 265. 
Folden Fjord, 252. 
Frogner, The, 258. 
Frogner Sseter, 268-269. 
Gamle Akers Kirke. See 

Akers Church. 
Grsensen, 261, 262. 
Gronland, 256. 
Hammer sborg, 256. 
Holmen Kollen, 268. 
Houses of Parliament. See 

Storthingsbygningen. 
Hovedo, 266. 
King's Road, The. See 

Kongs Veien. 
Kongs Veien, 265. 
Kyles of Bestum, 266. 
Kyles of Frogner, The, 258, 

266. 
Lade Gaard, 264. 
Ladegaardso, 255. 
Lade Gaardsoen, 266. 
Mariakirken, The, 252. 
Museums, The, 257, 258. 
National Theatre, The, 261. 



Nordmarken, 269. 

Norwegian National Muse- 
um, 267. 

Oscar's Hall, 251, 256, 267. 

Oslo, 252-253, 264. 

Oslo Asylum, 265. 

Oslo Church, 265. 

Oslo Gade, 264. 

Our Saviour's Church. See 
Vor Frelsers Kirke, 261. 

Piperviken, 250, 254, 256. 

Royal Palace, 257. 

Sagbakken, 256. 

St. Halvards Plads, 264. 

St. Hanshaugen, 263. 

St. John's Hill. See St. 
Hanshaugen. 

St. Olafskirke, 262. 

Skipper Gade, 254. 

Stor Gaden, 261. 

Storthingsbygningen, The, 
257, 260-261. 

Stortorvet, 261. 

Svinesund, 262. 

Torvet. See Stortorvet. 

Trefoldinghedskirke, 262. 

Trinity Church. See Tre- 
foldinghedskirke. 

University, The, 258, 259. 

Vaterland, 254, 256. 

Victoria Terrace, 258. 

Vor Frelsers Gravlund, 262. 

COPENHAGEN, 187-221. 
Amager, Island of, 199, 200. 
Amagertorv, 208, 209. 
Amak, 199. See Amager. 
Amalie-Gade, 202. 
Amalienborg, Palace of, 199, 
201, 202. 



319 



Index 



Amalienborg-Plads, 200-201. 
Arsenal, The, 215, 219. 
Art Museum, 217. 
Axel-huus, 187. 
Bredgade, 200, 201, 202. 
Charlottenborg, 200. 
Christiansborg Palace, 187, 

215. 
Christianshavn, 199, 218. 
Church of Our Lady, 210. 
Church of Our Saviour, 

218. 
Copenhagen Hill, 214, 221. 
Custom House, The, 199. 
Deer Park. See Dyrehaven. 
Dyrehaven, 198. 
Elsinore, 192, 197. 
Esplanade, The, 202. 
Exchange, The, 215, 219, 

220. 
Folkemuseum, 218. 
Frederiksberg, 213. 
Frederiksberg Allee, 213. 
Frederiksberg, Castle of, 

195, 214. 
Frederikshavn, Citadel of, 

202. 
Frederiksberg Have, 213. 
Frederiksberg Park, 214, 

221. 
Frederick Church, 199, 201. 
Free Port, The, 203. 
Frue Kirke, 209, 210. 
Gammel Strand, 199. 
Gammeltorv, 209, 210. 
Glyptothek, The Old, 214. 
Gothers-Gade, 204. 
Hermitage, The, 196, 198. 
Hesten, The, 200. 
Hojbro Plads, 208, 209, 220. 



Holmen's Kanal, 215, 220. 
Holmen's Kirche, 215. 
Houses of Parliament, 201. 
Hveen, 196, 198, 203. 
Industrial Art Museum, 

213, 218. 
Kalvebodstrand, 199. 
Kastel, The, 202. 
Kjobmager Gade, 210. 
Kjbbmannshavn, 187. 
Klampenborg, 198. 
Knippelsbro, 199, 218. 
Kongens Nytorv, 200, 204, 

208, 215. 
Kronborg, Castle of, 193- 

196, 197, 217. 
Kullen, 196. 
Langebro, 199. 
Langelinie, 199, 202, 203, 

221. 
Marble Church, 196. 
Marienlyst, Park of, 196. 
National Museum, 216-217. 
Norrevolgade, 207. 
Norrebro, 208. 
Ny-Carlsberg Glyptothek, 

213, 214. 
Nyhavn Kanal, 200. 
Nytorv, 209. 
Orsted Park, 207. 
Oster Gade, 208. 
Ostervolds-Gade, 207. 
Palace Bridge, 215. 
Prince's Palace, 216. 
Queen Louise's Bridge, 208. 
Eaadhuis-Plads, 208, 210, 

213. 
Rosenborg, 219. 
Rosenborg Castle, or Pal- 
ace of, 204-205. 



320 



Index 



Round Tower, 219. 

Royal Copenhagen Porcelain 

Manufactory, 218. 
Royal Library, 215. 
Royal Palace. See Amalien- 

borg. 
Rungsted, 197. 
Skodsborg, 196, 197, 198. 
felotsholmen, 199, 208, 215, 

218. 
Sondermarken, The, 213, 

214. 
Sound, The, 192, 196-198, 

203, 206. 
St. Annae Plads, 202. 
Straw Market, 213. 
Stroget, or Strogtid, 208- 

209. 
Surgeons' Hall, 201. 
Taarbaek, 198. 
Thorvaldsen Museum, 215- 

216. 
Tivoli, 211-213. 
Toldbod, 199. 
Town Hall, New, 213. 
Town Hall, Old, 209. 
Trekoner, 198. 
Vesbsek, 197. 
Vesterbro, 199. 
Vesterbro Gade, 213. 
Vesterbro Passage, 213. 
Vimmelskaftet, 209. 
Vor Frelsers Kirke, 218. 
Zealand, 196, 197. 
Zoological Gardens, 214. 

DUBLIN, 295-316. 
Addison's Walk, 316. 
Arran Bridge, 301. 
Bailey Lighthouse, 295. 



Bank of Ireland, 308. 

Barracks Bridge, 301. 

Bay of Dublin, 295, 300. 

Bloody Bridge, 301. 

Botanic Gardens, 316. 

Bull Wall, 300, 316. 

Butt Bridge, 301. 

Candlesticks, The, 295. 

Carlisle Bridge, 301. 

Cathedral of Dublin, 306. 

Cathedral of the Holy Trin- 
ity, 305. 

Christ Church, 301, 305, 
306. 

Church of St. Saviours, 
313. 

City Hall, 305. 

Clontarf, 315. 

Clontarf Castle, 315. 

College Green, 308. 

Constitution Hill, 312. 

Cork Hill, 304, 305. 

Cullenswood, 298. 

Custom House, 300, 301, 
311-312. 

Dodder, The, 300, 315. 

Dollymount, 316. 

Donnybrook, 315. 

Dublin Castle, 298, 304- 
305. 

Dundrum, 315. 

Eden Quay, 311. 

Essex Bridge, 301. 

Finglas, 316. 

Four Courts, The, 301, 313. 

Furze Glen, 303. 

Glasnevin, 316. 

Grafton Street, 308. 

Grattan Bridge, 301. 

Harold's Cross, 315. 



321 



Index 



House of Parliament, 308- 

309. 
Howth, 295, 296. 
Island Bridge, 302. 
James Street, 304. 
Kilmainham Hospital, 303- 

304. 
King's Bridge, 302. 
King's Inn, 312. 
King's Inn Quay, 312. 
Kingstown, 295. 
Knockmaroon Gate, 303. 
Leinster House, 316. 
Leinster Lawn, 311. 
Liberties of St. Patrick, 

The, 304. 
Liffey, The, 295, 298, 299, 

301, 302, 303, 304, 313, 

314, 315. 

Lion's Head, 295. 

Magazine Fort, 302. 

Mansion House, 311. 

Merrion, 315. 

Merrion Square, 308. 

Metal Bridge. See Welling- 
ton. 

National Library, 310, 311. 
Needles, The, 295. 
Nelson's Pillar, 300, 301, 

315, 316. 

North Bull, 300, 316. 
North Wall, 300. 
O'Connell Bridge, 301, 311. 
Old Bridge, 301. 
Ormonde Bridge, 301. 
People's Garden, 303. 
Phcenix Park, 301, 302-303. 
Pigeon House, 300, 315. 
Poddle River, 304. 
Post Office, 301, 312. 



Preston's Inn, 312. 
Queen's Bridge, 301. 
Rathmines, 315. 
Richmond Bridge, 301, 313. 
Ringsend, 300. 
Rock Road, The, 315. 
Rotunda, 312. 
Rotunda Hospital, 312. 
Royal College of Surgeons, 

310. 
Royal Exchange, 305. 
Rutland Square, 312. 
Sackville Street, 300, 301, 

312. 
Sarah Bridge, 302, 303. 
Science and Art Museum, 

310. 
St. George's Church, 313. 
St. Mary's Abbey, 298, 313- 

314. 
St. Michan's, 313. 
St. Patrick's Cathedral, 306, 

307-308. 
St. Patrick's Hall, 304. 
St. Patrick's Well, 307, 310. 
St. Stephen's Green, 308, 

309. 
Steeven's Hospital, 304. 
South Wall, 300, 315. 
Strawberry Banks, 302, 303. 
Swift's Hospital, 304. 
Swivel Bridge. See Butt 

Bridge. 
Trinity College, 308, 309. 
Trinity College Library, 

309. 
Viceregal Lodge, 303. 
Victoria Bridge, 301. 
Wellington Bridge, 301. 
Wellington Monument, 302. 



322 



Index 



Westminster Abbey of Ire- 
land, The, 307. 

Westmoreland Street, 301. 

Whitworth Bridge, 298, 
301, 313. 

Zoological Gardens, 303. 

EDINBURGH, 270-294. 
Arsenal, The, 281. 
Arthur's Seat, 291, 293. 
Calton Hill, 278, 280, 292. 
Candlemakers' Row, 282. 
Canongate, The, 272, 273, 

281, 289. 

Castle Hill, 275, 281, 282. 
Castle Rock, The, 272, 278. 
Cowgate, The, 273, 278. 
Cross, Canongate Church, 

289. 
Cross, Old City, 287, 288. 
Dean Bridge, 278. 
Edinburgh Castle, 272, 275, 

276, 278, 279-281. 
George the Fourth's Bridge, 

278. 
Grassmarket, The, 276, 281, 

282, 283. 
Greenside, 293. 
Greyfriars' Church, New, 

282, 283. 
Greyfriars' Church, Old, 

273, 282, 283. 
Half-Moon Battery, 280. 
Heart of Midlothian, 285. 
Heriot's Hospital, 273, 276, 

283-284. 
High Street, 281, 284, 289. 
Holyrood, Abbey of, 272, 

290. 
Holyrood Chapel, 290, 291. 



Holyrood Palace, 277, 290, 

291. 
King's Park, 291. 
Krames, The, 284, 285. 
Lawn Market, 281, 284. 
Luckenbooths, 284, 285. 
Moray House, 289. 
New Town, 293, 294. 
Nor' Loch, 278, 286, 293. 
North Bridge, 278. 
North Bridge, the New, 278. 
Old Town, 278, 293, 294. 
Palace, The, 280-281. 
Parliament Square, 288. 
Picture Gallery, 281. 
Princes Street, 278, 293, 

294. 
Princes Street Gardens, 294. 
Queen Mary's Bath, 290. 
Regent's Bridge, 278. 
Scott Monument, The, 294. 
South Bridge, The, 278. 
St. Giles's Church, 277, 284, 

286-287, 288, 289. 
St. Margaret's Chapel, 280. 
Tolbooth, Canongate, 289. 
Tolbooth, Old, 284, 285, 

289. 
Waterloo Bridge, 278. 
West Bow, 281, 282. 
White Horse Inn, The, 290. 

THE HAGUE, 99-123. 

Binnenhof, The, 103-105, 

110, 112, 116. 
Bosch, The, 102, 116, 117, 

118. 
Buitenhof, The, 110, 111. 
Church of St. James. See 

Groote Kerk. 



323 



Index 



Gedempte Spui, 117. 
Gevangenpoort, The, 102, 

110. 
Groenmarkt, The, 112. 
Groote Kerk, 116-117. 
Haagsche Bosch, 102. 
Het Loo, 109. 
House of Olden Barneveldt, 

110. 
House of Spinoza, 117. 
House in the Wood, 100, 

117-118, 148, 152. 
Huis ten Bosch, 102. See 

House in the Wood. 
Java Straat, 110, 118. 
Kneuterdyk, 110, 118. 
Koninginne Gracht, 99, 111. 
Koorte Pooten, 111. 
Korte Voorhout, 111. 
Lange Pooten, 111. 
Lange Voorhout, 99, 110. 
Mauritshuis, 103, 107, 148. 
Mauritskade, 111. 
Nieuwe Kerk, 102, 117. 
Noordeinde Straat, 99, 110. 
Old Scheveningen Road, 111, 

118. 
Paleis Straat, 111. 
Plaats, The, 110, 111. 
Plein, 99, 103, 111, 118. 
Plein, 1813, 111, 118. 
Royal Palace, 111. 
Royal Picture Gallery, 107- 

110. 
Scheveningen, 102, 118-123. 
Scheveningensche Bosch, 119. 
Scheveningen, Dunes of, 

122-123. 
s' Gravenshage, 99. 
Singelsgracht, 111. 



Spui Straat, 111, 112, 

117. 
Tour nooi veld, The, 110, 111. 
Town Hall, 116. 
Treves Saloon, The, 105. 
Vischmarkt, The, 112. 
Vlaming Straat, 112. 
Vyver, The, 99, 103, 110, 

116. 
Vyverberg, The, 103, 111, 

118. 
Willems-Park, 110, 111. 

HAMBURG, 160-186. 
Adolphs-Platz, 174. 
Alster Arcades, 170. 
Alster-Bassin, 169. 
Alsterdamm, 169. 
Alsterhohe, 181. 
Alster, Inner, 169, 178. 
Alster, Outer, 169. 
Alster-Pavillion, 160, 170, 

171. 
Alsterthor, 181. 
Alte-Jungfernstieg, 169. See 

Old Jungfernstieg. 
Alteland, 162. 
Altona, 161, 162, 167, 169, 

185. 
Altrahlstadt, 185. 
Altstadt, 168. 
Ausser-Alster, 170, 172, 

185. 
Bergedorf, 161. 
Bille, The, 169. 
Binnenhafen, The, 176. 
Binnen-Alster, 169, 170, 171. 

See Alster, Inner. 
Blankenese, 161, 166, 185. 
Borse, The, 174. 



324 



Index 



Botanical Gardens, 182. 

Botanic Museum, 182. 

Cremon, The, 175. 

Cuxhaven, 162, 166, 186. 

Dammthor, The, 182. 

Dammthorstrasse, 182. 

Docks, 172-173. 

Elbe, 161, 162, 165-166, 
168, 169, 183-184, 185. 

Esplanade, 182. 

Exchange. See Borse. 

Fish Markets, 180, 181. 

Fleets, The, 173-174, 183- 
184. 

Friedrichsruh, 186. 

Ganse Markt, The, 182. 

Hafentor, 172. 

Hagenbeck's Animal Collec- 
tion, 183. 

Hansa Fountain, 182. 

Hansa Platz, 182. 

Harburg, 186. 

Hopfen Markt, The, 180. 

Hop Market, The, 180. 

Horn, 172. 

Johanneum, 181. 

Jungfernstieg, 160, 171. See 
Alte-Jungfernstieg and 
Neue-Jungfernstieg. 

Katharinenstrasse, 175. 

Kaufmannsdiele, The, 174. 

Klosterthor, 182. 

Kunsthalle, 181. 

Lombardsbriicke, The, 170, 
171, 181, 182. 

Liibeckerthor, The, 182. 

Luneburger Heide, 162, 186. 

Messburg, The, 180. 

Natural History Museum, 
182. 



Neue-Jungfernstieg, 169. See 

New Jungfernstieg. 
Neue Pferde Markt, 183. 
Neuhof, 185. 
Neustadt, 168. 
New Jungfernstieg, 177, 

179. 
Ninedorf, 186. 
Numuhlen, 162. 
Oevelgonne, 162. 
Old Jungfernstieg, 170, 178, 

179. 
Othmarschen, 185. 
Pferde Markt, 181. 
Post Towers, The, 171. 
Rathaus, 174-175. 
Rathaus-Markt, 174. 
Reesendammbrticke, The, 

170. 
Reichenstrasse, 175. 
Reimersbriicke, The, 173. 
Reinbeck, 186. 
Rodingsmarkt, The, 175. 
Sachsenwald, 161, 186. 
Sailors' Home, The, 168. 
Schleusenbriicke, The, 170. 
St. Gertrude's, 173-174. 
St. Jakobi, Church of, 171, 

179. 
St. James's, 181. See St. 

Jakobi, Church of. 
St. Katharine's, 179, 180. 
St. Michael's Church, 167, 

170. 
St. Nicholas, Church of, 

171, 176-177, 179-180. 
St. Pauli, 169, 172. 
St. Peter, Church of, 171, 

177, 179, 180-181. 
Stadt Theatre, 182. 



325 



Index 



Steinstrasse, 181. 
Steinthor, The, 182. 
Stephans Platz, 182. 
Stintfang, The, 168, 184. 
Town Hall. See Rathaus. 
Uhlenhorst, 172, 186. 
Vierlande, 162. 
Wandsbeck, 185. 
Zoll Kanal, The, 180. 
Zoological Gardens, 183. 

LONDON. 

Adelphi, The, 33. 

Albert Embankment, The, 
35. 

Aldgate, 62. 

Bank of England, 59, 60. 

Bankside, 31. 

Battersea Bridge, 37, 38. 

Battersea Fields, 38. 

Battersea Park, 38. 

Big Ben, 35. 

Billingsgate Market, 26. 

Bishopgate Street, 60, 62. 

Bear Gardens, 31. 

Belle Sauvage, La, 53. 

Bermondsey, 21. 

Birdcage Walk, 45. 

Blackfriars Bridge, 31. 

Blackheath, 15, 34. 

Blackwell Tunnel, 19. 

Borough, The. See South- 
ward 

Bow Bells, 57. 

Bow Church, 57. 

Bread Street, 58. 

British Museum, 47. 

Buckingham Palace, 45. 

Caesar's Tower. See White 
Tower. 



Cannon Street, 12. 

Chapel of St. John (Tower), 

24. 
Chapel of St. Peter ad Vin- 

cula, 25. 
Chapel of the Pyx, 41. 
Charing Cross, 34, 44, 49- 

50. 
Charing Cross Railway 

Bridge, 34. 
Chelsea Bridge, 37. 
Cheapside, 15, 46, 58, 59. 
Cleopatra's Needle, 33. 
City of London, 13-17, 18, 

50. 
City of Masts, 20. 
Chiswick Eyot, 39. 
Cock Lane, 47. 
Constitution Hill, 45. 
Cornhill, 59, 60, 62. 
Coronation Chairs, 43. 
Christ's Hospital, 47. 
Cheapside Cross, 58. 
Cheyne Walk, 38. 
Chelsea Embankment, 37. 
Chelsea Hospital, 37. 
Cremorne Gardens, 38. 
Crosby Hall, 60-62. 
Custom House, 26. 
Duke Humphrey's Walk, 

53. 
East London, 62. 
Edgeware Road, 46. 
Edward the Confessor's 

Chapel, 42. 
Epping Forest, 62. 
Execution Dock, 21. 
Fleet, The, 32. 
Fleet Prison, 32. 
Fleet Street, 50, 52. 



326 






Index 



Folly on the Thames, The, 

29. 
Friday Street, 58. 
Fulham, 39. 
Fulham Palace, 39. 
Globe Theatre, 31. 
Golden Gallery, 56. 
Gray's Inn, 52. 
Gray's Inn Walks, 52. 
"Great Paul," 57. 
Greater London, 18. 
Green Park, 45. 
Greenwich, 19. 
Greenwich Hospital, 19. 
Greenwich Park, 19. 
Greenwich Tunnel, 19. 
Grosvenor Embankment, 37. 
Guildhall, The, 16, 58-59. 
Hammersmith, 39. 
Hampstead, 16. 
Henry VII.'s Chapel, 43. 
Hertford House, 46. 
Highgate, 16. 
Holborn, 32, 46, 47. 
Horse Guards, 45. 
House of Commons, 41. 
House of Lords, 41. 
Houses of Parliament, 34- 

35. 
Hurlingham House, 39. 
Hyde Park, 45, 46. 
Hyde Park Corner, 45, 48. 
Inns of Court, The four, 

50-52. 
Jacob's Island, 21. 
Jerusalem Chamber, The, 

41. 
Kensington Gardens, 45, 46. 
Kensington Palace, 46. 
King's College, 33. 



Lambeth Bridge, 36. 
Lambeth Marsh, or Marsh- 
es, 31, 34. 
Lambeth Palace, 35-37. 
Law Courts, 50. 
Limehouse, 20-21. 
Lincoln's Inn, 51. 
London Bridge, 13, 14, 15, 

26-27, 29, 32, 62. 
London Docks, 20. 
London Stone, 12. 
Ludgate, 15. 
Ludgate Hill, 52-53. 
Manchester Square, 46. 
Mansion House, 59, 60. 
Marble Arch, 46. 
Marshalsea Gaol, 30. 
Mermaid Tavern, The, 58. 
Mitre, The, 52. 
Modern Babylon, The, 11. 
Monument, The (London), 

17, 26. 
Moorfields, 16. 
National Gallery, The 

(London), 49. 
Nelson's Column, Trafalgar 

Square, 49. 
Newgate, 46. 
Newgate Prison, 18, 47. 
Nonsuch House, 27. 
Old Lady of Threadneedle 

Street, 60. 
Oxford Street, 46, 47. 
Pall Mall, 48. 
Park Lane, 45, 46. 
Paul's Cross, 54. 
Paul's Walk, 53. 
Piccadilly, 48. 
Pimlico Railway Bridge, 

37. 



327 



Index 



Poet's Corner, 42. 

Pool, The, 20. 

Poultry, The, 59. 

Putney, 38. 

Putney Bridge, 39. 

Pye Corner, 47. 

Queen Eleanor's Cross, 49. 

Queen's Stair, The, 23. 

Ratcliffe Highway, 21. 

Rotherhithe, 20. 

Rotten Row, 46. 

Royal Exchange, 59, 60. 

Savoy Palace, 15, 33. 

Sebert, Tomb of, 42. 

Serpentine, The, 40. 

Ship, The (Greenwich), 19. 

Smithfield, 14, 15, 16, 47, 
54. 

Somerset House, 33. 

South Kensington, 46. 

Southwark, 13, 15, 30. 

Southwark Bridge, 32. 

Spitalfields, 17. 

St. Bartholomew's Hospi- 
tal, 48. 

St. Bartholomew's Priory, 
47, 48. 

St. Clement's Danes, 50. 

St. Giles's, Cripplegate, 58. 

St. Helen's, Bishopgate, 60- 
61. 

St. Katharine's Docks, 20, 
21. 

St. Margaret's, Westmin- 
ster, 44. 

St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 
London, 49. 

St. Mary-le-Bow. See Bow 
Church. 

St. Mary-le-Strand, 50. 

328 



St. Saviour's, Southwark, 
30-31. 

St. Sepulchre's, 47. 

St. Stephen's Cloisters, 43. 

St. Stephen's Crypt, West- 
minster, 40. 

St. Thomas's Hospital, 35. 

St. Paul's Cathedral, 13, 16, 
27, 54-57. 

St. Paul's, Bells of, 57. 

St. Paul's, Old, 53, 55. 

Steelyard, The, 32. 

Strand, The, 15, 49, 50. 

Stone Gallery, 56, 57. 

Stone of Scone, 43. 

Swan Theatre, 31. 

Tabard Inn, 30. 

Tate Gallery, 37. 

Temple, The, 50. 

Temple Bar, 50, 52. 

Temple Church, 51. 

Temple, Inner, 51. 

Temple, Middle, 51. 

Thames, The, 19, 27, 29. 

Thames Tunnel, 19, 20. 

Thorney, 34. 

Threadneedle Street, 59, 60. 

Tower, The, 15, 21-25, 62. 

Tower Bridge, 21. 

Tower Hill, 25, 26. 

Tower Subway, 26. 

Trafalgar Square, 48, 49. 

Traitors' Gate, 21, 23. 

Trinity Square Gardens, 25. 

Vauxhall Bridge, 37. 
Vauxhall Gardens, 37. 
Victoria and Albert Docks, 

19. 
Victoria Bridge, 37. 
Victoria Embankment, 33. 



Index 



Wallace Collection, 47. 

Wallbrook, The, 32. 

Wandsworth, 38. 

Wapping, 21. 

Water Gate, 34. 

Waterloo Bridge, 29, 33. 

West End, The, 17, 50. 

West India Dock, 20. 

Westminster Abbey, 13, 41- 
43. 

" Westminster Abbey of the 
City," The, 61. 

Westminster Bridge, 31, 
35. 

Westminster Hall, 40. 

Westminster Palace, 35, 39. 

Whispering Gallery, 55, 
56. 

White Chapel, 62. 

White Hart Inn, South- 
ward 30. 

Whitehall, 40, 44-45, 48. 

White Tower, The, 13, 22, 
24. 

Wood Street, 58. 

Woolwich, 19. 

York House, 44. 

STOCKHOLM, 222-249. 

Adolf-Fredriks-Kyrka, The, 
239. 

Berzelii Park, 237. 

Blasieholmen, 240. 

Blasieholm. See Blasiehol- 
men. 

Blasieholmshamnen, 240. 

Brunkeberg, 239. 

Brunkebergs-Torg, 238. 

Brunnsviken, 244. 

Carl XII.'s Torg, 240. 



Djurgarden, 238, 241-242, 

248. 
Djurgiirds-Staden, 242. 
Drotting-Gatan, 238. 
Drottningholm, 245. 
Exchange, The, 229. 
Frisens-Park, 242. 
German Church. See Tyska 

Kyrka. 
Gustaf-Adolfs-Torg, 237, 

238. 
Haga, 244. 

Hasselbacken, The, 242. 
Helgeandsholm, 223, 228, 

237. 
Humlegard, The, 239. 
Jacobs-Kyrka, 237. 
Johannes-Kyrka, The, 239. 
Kanonier-Kasern, 241. 
Karl-Johans-Kyrka, 241. 
Kastelholmen, 241, 247. 
Katarina-Kyrka, 240. 
King's Garden, The. See 

Kungstradglird. 
Klara Kyrka, The, 238. 
Kornhamns Torg, 230. 
Kungstradgard, The, 237- 
Lake Malar, 222, 230, 231, 

239, 240. 
Lejonbacken, 231. 
Logarden, 23 1 . 
Malar Market, 230. 
Maria-Kyrka, 240. 
Meat Market, 230. 
Mosebacken Garden, The, 

240. 
Munkbro, 230. 
National Museum, The, 

240-241. 
Norrbro, 229, 231, 236. 



329 



Index 



Norrstrom, The, 237, 238. 
Northern Museum, The, 

242. 
Ostermalm, 238, 239. 
Radhus, 235. 
Regerings-Gatan, 238. 
Ridderholm, 222, 228. 
Riddarholmen. See Riddar- 

holm. 
Riddarholm Church, 229. 

See Riddarholms-Kyrka. 
Riddarholms-Kyrka, The, 

235-236. 
Riddarhus, The, 235. 
Riddarhus-Torg, 234. 
Rosendal, 244. 
Royal Museum of Armour 

and Costume, 233. 
Royal Palace, The, 229, 

230-233. 
Royal Skating Club, 241, 

247. 
Saltjo, 222, 229. 
Skansen, 242-244. 
Skeppsholmen, 241. 
Skeppsholms-Bro, 241. 
Skeppsbro, 231, 234. 
Slottsbacken, 231, 232. 
Slussen, The, 230. 



Sodermalm, 229, 230, 239, 

240. 
Soderstrom, 230, 239. 
Sodra Teater, 240. 
St. Clare's. See Klara 

Kyrka. 
St. Gertrude, Chapel of, 

234. 
St. Nicholas, Church of, 

229. See Storkyrka. 
Staden, 229, 230, 237, 239. 
Stora Ny-Gatan, 234. 
Storkyrka, 229, 233-234. 
Stor-Torg, The, 229, 234, 

248. 
Strandvag, 242. See Strand- 

vagen. 
Strandvagen, 238. 
Strom-Gatan, 238. 
Stromparterre, The, 237. 
Svartman-Gatan, 234. 
Telephone Tower, The, 238. 
Town Hall. See Radhus. 
Tyska Kyrka, The, 234. 
Ulriksdal, 244. 
Valhalla-Vag, 239. 
Venice of the North, The, 

222. 
Vesterlang-Gatan, 234. 



330 



JUL 12 1310 



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